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.

The group has historically ruled that members cannot accept blood transfusions, as - according to the groups website - both the Old and New Testaments "command us to abstain from blood".

From BBC • Mar. 20, 2026

“Arbitrators aren’t elected, they’re not required to weigh countywide trade-offs like homeless services, healthcare, capital improvements, all of those things,” said Supervisor Holly Mitchell, the only supervisor to abstain from the vote.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 11, 2026

Coffee wasn’t a choice: Tanner is Mormon, and adherents traditionally abstain.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 5, 2026

The basics of a no-spend—or low-spend, depending on your personal definition—challenge are just that: for a predetermined period of time, you abstain from nonessential purchases.

From Salon • Jan. 11, 2026

Better to abstain from the gardens of delectable delights than to be stuck planting them, dawn to dusk.

From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez

Vocabulary lists containing abstain

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