Definitions

abstain

[ab-steyn] / æbˈsteɪn /

VERB

hold back from doing

Synonyms

STRONGEST

cease forgo pass up quit refrain renounce shun withhold

STRONG

abjure abnegate avoid constrain curb decline eschew evade fast forbear pass refuse spurn starve stop

WEAK

deny oneself do without fence-sit give the go by give up go on the wagon keep from sit on one's hands sit on the fence sit out take the cure take the pledge

Antonyms

STRONGEST

continue do

STRONG

accept allow embrace encourage face meet use want

WEAK

indulge

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.

Abstain: The science behind the dreaded red wine headache.

From New York Times • Nov. 21, 2023

“It wasn’t about Timothy,” the student behind the Abstain campaign told me.

From New York Times • Oct. 15, 2014

After that nothing but approving votes were heard until Siam's Assemblyman softly murmured "Abstain."

From Time Magazine Archive

Democrats: Abstain Republicans: Abstain Is it possible that Marion Barry is still the mayor of Washington?

From Time Magazine Archive

Abstain," said Mr. Davitt, "from all acts of violence, repel every incentive to outrage.

From The New England Magazine, Volume 1, No. 2, February, 1886. The Bay State Monthly, Volume 4, No. 2, February, 1886. by Various

Vocabulary lists containing abstain

100 SAT Words Beginning with "A"

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100 Top "SAT" Words

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Electoral Elocution: The Verbiage of Voting

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