Abstain

English

Etymology

From Middle English absteynen, abstenen, from Old French astenir, abstenir, from Latin abstinere, abstentum (“‘keep or refrain from’”); from prefix from + hold. See tenable.

Pronunciation

• (RP) IPA: /əbˈsteɪn/
• Rhymes: -eɪn

Verb

Infinitive to Abstain

Third person singular -

Simple past -

Past participle -

Present participle -

to Abstain (third-person singular simple present -, present participle -, simple past and past participle -)

1. (intransitive) Refrain from (something); hold one's self aloof; to forbear or keep from doing, especially an indulgence of the passions or appetites; -- with from.
2. (intransitive) To shun voluntarily.

   • Not a few abstained from voting. - Thomas Babington Macaulay
   • Who abstains from meat that is not gaunt? - Shakespeare, Richard II, II-i

3. (intransitive) Deliberately refrain from casting one's vote at a meeting where one is present.
4. (transitive) Hinder; withhold.

   • Whether he abstain men from marrying. - John Milton

Synonyms

• deny oneself
• forbear
• give up
• refrain
• relinquish
• withhold

Derived terms

• abstention

Translations

refrain from

Arabic: امتنع ar(ar) (imtana`a) Bulgarian: въздържам се bg(bg) Chinese: Mandarin: 避免 cmn(cmn) (bìmiǎn), 戒除 cmn(cmn) (jièchú) Czech: zdržet se Danish: afholde sig fra Dutch: zich onthouden (van) French: s'abstenir fr(fr) German: sich enthalten Hebrew: התנזר he(he)

Italian: astenersi it(it) Japanese: 慎む ja(ja) (tsutsushimu), 差し控える ja(ja) (sashihikaeru) Norwegian: avholde seg Novial: abstina Russian: воздержаться ru(ru) (vozderžát'sja) (от (ot) + genitive case), (imperfective) воздерживаться ru(ru) (vozdérživat'sja) (от (ot) + genitive case) Slovene: vzdržati se Spanish: abstenerse es(es) West Frisian: jin ôfsetten fan

refrain from voting

Czech: zdržet se Danish: afholde sig fra (at stemme) Dutch: zich onthouden (van stemming) German: sich enthalten Italian: astenersi it(it) Japanese: 投票を棄権する ja(ja) (tōhyōo kikensuru)

Novial: abstina Polish: wstrzymać się Russian: воздержаться ru(ru) (vozderžát'sja), (imperfective) воздерживаться ru(ru) (vozdérživat'sja) Spanish: abstenerse es(es)

hinder, withhold

Danish: forhindre da(da) Dutch: verhinderen nl(nl) German: abhalten de(de)

Novial: abstina Spanish: retener es(es) West Frisian: keare, behinderje, ferhinderje

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

Hebrew: להימנע (lehimana')

Anagrams

• aabinst,
• Bastian

ar:abstain de:abstain et:abstain fa:abstain fr:abstain gl:abstain io:abstain id:abstain kn:abstain li:abstain hu:abstain ml:abstain pl:abstain pt:abstain fi:abstain sv:abstain ta:abstain te:abstain th:abstain tr:abstain uk:abstain vi:abstain zh:abstain