had refrained
- past perfect of refrain.
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.
But, unlike Hezbollah, which attacked Israel on March 2, three days after the U.S. and Israeli campaign on Iran, the Houthis had refrained from helping their ally, until Monday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026
Iran until Wednesday had refrained from attacking its neighbor Turkey.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 4, 2026
Until this month, the two nations had refrained from launching major airstrikes from one country’s territory directly at the other’s.
From New York Times ● Apr. 17, 2024
She added that despite not receiving a pay rise, nurses had refrained from strike action during 2023 "to give politicians time and space to work out whatever the issues were to get the assembly back".
From BBC ● Jan. 5, 2024
We called for one of our number who had refrained from the dissection—Dr. John Trefusis—to attend the youth and ensure that he did not lay a hand of violence upon himself or any other.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson
