abstain

abstain
I
(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)
v. i. forbear, refrain. See avoidance, moderation, asceticism, disuse.Ant., indulge.
II
(Roget's IV) v.
Syn. refrain, forbear, renounce, desist, forgo, withhold, avoid, stop, deny oneself, hold aloof from, keep aloof from, eschew, refuse, decline, spare, hold back, shun, evade, cease, dispense with, do without, go without, fast, starve oneself, teetotal, not touch, have nothing to do with, let alone, let well enough alone, do nothing, keep from, keep one's hands off, stay one's hand, withhold oneself from, restrain oneself, exercise self-restraint, turn aside from, abjure, swear off*, lay off*, pass up*, turn over a New leaf*, have no hand in*, take the pledge*, get on the water wagon*, (just) say no*.
Ant. indulge, join*, gorge.
Syn.- abstain implies voluntary self-denial or the deliberate giving up of something [ to abstain from alcohol ] ; refrain usually suggests the curbing of a passing impulse in keeping oneself from saying or doing something [ although provoked, she refrained from answering ] ; forbear suggests self-restraint manifesting a patient endurance under provocation [ to forbear venting one's wrath ]
III
(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) (VOCABULARY WORD) v.
[ub STANE]
to voluntarily hold back, to refrain from or go without.
Everyone is trying to abstain from smoking.
SYN.: refrain, desist, eschew, go without, forebear, *swear off, shun, spurn, *stay on the wagon, deny oneself.
ANT.: indulge, imbibe
IV
(Roget's Thesaurus II) verb To hold oneself back: forbear, hold off, keep, refrain, withhold. See RESTRAINT.

English dictionary for students. 2013.

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  • abstain — ab·stain /əb stān, ab / vi: to refrain from exercising federal jurisdiction over a case: cause an abstention Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996. abstain …   Law dictionary

  • Abstain — Ab*stain , v. t. To hinder; to withhold. [1913 Webster] Whether he abstain men from marrying. Milton. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • abstain — (v.) late 14c., to withhold oneself, from O.Fr. abstenir (14c.), earlier astenir (13c.) hold (oneself) back, refrain, abstain (from), practice abstinence, from L. abstinere withhold, keep back, keep off, from ab(s) from, away from (see AB (Cf. ab …   Etymology dictionary

  • abstain — [ab stān′, əbstān′] vi. [ME absteinen < OFr abstenir < L abstinere, to hold back < ab(s) , from + tenere, to hold: see TENANT] to hold oneself back; voluntarily do without; refrain (from) [to abstain from smoking] SYN. REFRAIN1 abstainer …   English World dictionary

  • Abstain — Ab*stain , v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Abstained}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Abstaining}.] [OE. absteynen, abstenen, OF. astenir, abstenir, F. abstenir, fr. L. abstinere, abstentum, v. t. & v. i., to keep from; ab, abs + tenere to hold. See {Tenable}.] To hold… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • abstain — *refrain, forbear Analogous words: *forgo, eschew, abnegate: *decline, refuse, spurn, reject: desist (see STOP) Antonyms: indulge Contrasted words: pamper (see INDULGE): *satiate …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • abstain — [v] hold back from doing abjure, abnegate, avoid, cease, constrain, curb, decline, deny oneself, do without, eschew, evade, fast, fence sit*, forbear, forgo, give the go by*, give up, go on the wagon*, keep from, pass, pass up, quit, refrain,… …   New thesaurus

  • abstain — ► VERB 1) restrain oneself from doing or indulging in something. 2) formally choose not to vote. DERIVATIVES abstainer noun. ORIGIN Latin abstinere hold from …   English terms dictionary

  • abstain — UK [əbˈsteɪn] / US verb [intransitive] Word forms abstain : present tense I/you/we/they abstain he/she/it abstains present participle abstaining past tense abstained past participle abstained 1) a) to deliberately avoid doing something that is… …   English dictionary

  • abstain — v. (D; intr.) to abstain from (to abstain from alcohol) * * * [əb steɪn] (D; intr.) to abstain from (to abstain from alcohol) …   Combinatory dictionary

  • abstain — [[t]æbste͟ɪn[/t]] abstains, abstaining, abstained 1) VERB If you abstain from something, usually something you want to do, you deliberately do not do it. [FORMAL] [V from n] Abstain from sex or use condoms... Do you drink alcohol, smoke, or… …   English dictionary

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