| Definitions | | abstain |
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verb
- (intransitive) refrain, Refrain from (something); hold one's self aloof; to forbear or keep from doing, especially an indulgence of the passions or appetites; -- with from.
- (intransitive) To shun voluntarily.
- Not a few abstained from voting. - Macaulay
- Who abstains from meat that is not gaunt? - Shakespeare, Richard II, II-i
- (intransitive) Deliberately refrain from casting one's vote at a meeting where one is present.
- (transitive) hinder, Hinder; withhold.
- Whether he men from marrying. - Milton
Etymology: From Old English absteynen, abstenen, from Old French astenir, abstenir, from Latin abstinere, abstentum, "keep or refrain from"; from prefix abs- "from", + tenere, "hold". See tenable.
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Full Definition of abstain
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