abstain
[ab-steyn]
- to hold oneself back voluntarily, especially from something regarded as improper or unhealthy (usually followed by from): to abstain from eating meat.
- to refrain from casting one's vote: a referendum in which two delegates abstained.
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Origin of abstain
1350–1400; Middle English abste(i)nen < Middle French abstenir ≪ Latin abstinēre, equivalent to abs- abs- + -tinēre, combining form of tenēre to hold, keep
Synonyms
See more synonyms for abstain on Thesaurus.com1. forbear; desist, cease.
Antonyms
1. indulge.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for abstain
Contemporary Examples
In fact, I publicly vowed to abstain from The Ball in 2012, but professional responsibilities and curiosity got the better of me.
The Craziest Date Night for Single Jews, Where Mistletoe Is Ditched for ShotsEmily Shire
December 26, 2014
But the two also could abstain from caucusing with either party and possibly have even more clout.
So is everyone around you, even if you find a way to abstain.
Pollsters have been predicting disillusioned leftist voters are particularly likely to abstain.
Some especially well-bred people among us might be noble enough in spirit and possessions to abstain from this temptation.
Historical Examples
Merely to abstain from definition was like a load taken off my mind.
The Conquest of FearBasil King
I told him that he might abstain in future from such a mockery of love.
A Comedy of Marriage and Other TalesGuy De Maupassant
Then we must abstain from spoiling the dead or hindering their burial?
The RepublicPlato
I do not include Socrates, who is able either to drink or to abstain, and will not mind, whichever we do.
SymposiumPlato
Or would you abstain from using the potion altogether, although you have no reason for abstaining?'
LawsPlato
abstain
- to choose to refrainhe abstained from alcohol
- to refrain from voting, esp in a committee, legislature, etc
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Word Origin
C14: via Old French from Latin abstinēre, from abs- ab- 1 + tenēre to hold, keep
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for abstain
v.
late 14c., "to withhold oneself," from Old French abstenir (14c.), earlier astenir (13c.) "hold (oneself) back, refrain, abstain (from), practice abstinence," from Latin abstinere "withhold, keep back, keep off," from ab(s)- "from, away from" (see ab-) + tenere "to hold" (see tenet). Specifically of liquor, attested from late 14c. Of voting, 1796. Related: Abstained; abstaining.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper