 4 definitions found
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
abstain
verb
1: refrain from voting
2: choose no to consume; "I abstain from alcohol" [syn: {refrain},
{desist}] [ant: {consume}]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Abstain \Ab*stain"\, verb (used with an object)
To hinder; to withhold.
Whether he abstain men from marrying. --Milton.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Abstain \Ab*stain"\, verb (used without an object) [imp. & p. p. {Abstained}; p. pr. &
vb. n. {Abstaining}.] [OE. absteynen, abstenen, OF. astenir,
abstenir, F. abstenir, fr. L. abstinere, abstentum, verb (used with an object) &
verb (used without an object), to keep from; ab, abs + tenere to hold. See
{Tenable}.]
To hold one's self aloof; to forbear or refrain voluntarily,
and especially from an indulgence of the passions or
appetites; -- with from.
Not a few abstained from voting. --Macaulay.
Who abstains from meat that is not gaunt? --Shak.
Syn: To refrain; forbear; withhold; deny one's self; give up;
relinquish.
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
45 Moby Thesaurus words for "abstain":
abnegate, abstain from, avoid, constrain, cop out, curb, decline,
dispense with, do without, duck the issue, eschew, evade,
evade the issue, forbear, forgo, hold, hold aloof from, hold back,
hold off, keep, keep back, keep from, keep in hand, let alone,
let go by, never touch, not touch, not use, pass up, refrain,
refrain from, refuse, reject, reserve, save, shun, sit it out,
spare, spurn, stand aloof from, stand neuter, straddle, trim,
waive, withhold
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