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Definitions

abstain

[ab-steyn] / æbˈsteɪn /


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 committee would visit the patient's bedside to put that member under considerable pressure to abstain from blood in all cases," Evans said.

From BBC • Apr. 12, 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

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

"I think it is more likely that China and Russia will abstain, register their skepticism about the plan and then sit back and watch the US struggle to put it into action," Gowan said.

From Barron's • Nov. 17, 2025

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