abstention
Americannoun
-
a voluntary decision not to act; the act of refraining or abstaining
-
the act of withholding one's vote
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of abstention
1515–25; < Late Latin abstentiōn- (stem of abstentiō ), equivalent to Latin abstent ( us ), past participle of abstinēre to abstain + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
Abstention is when someone deliberately avoids doing something, especially something that might be harmful. You might decide to live for a year without buying anything besides food — you could call the act of doing this abstention from the consumer lifestyle. Other kinds of abstention might include resisting junk food or quitting smoking. To abstain is to hold back or shun something. The root of both words is the Latin abstinere, "withhold, keep back, or keep off."
Vocabulary lists containing abstention
Vocabulary from the Lyrics of Stephen Sondheim, Volume I
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Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions
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At Last She Stood
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The buffer-zone law passed 44-5, with one abstention.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026
The second vote passed with six votes in favor, four against, and one abstention.
From Barron's • Dec. 5, 2025
Labour MSs banged Senedd tables as the result of the vote came in with 29 Senedd members in support and 28 against, with one abstention from Dodds.
From BBC • Mar. 4, 2025
The moral position, abstention, could become in effect an immoral act, throwing open the gate and allowing even more danger in.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 9, 2024
One does not know which to admire most, Bonaparte's absence from Marshal Wurmser's humiliation, or his abstention from entering Rome as a conqueror.
From Napoleon's Letters to Josephine by Hall, Henry Foljambe
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
