English Explanatory Dictionary

abstain

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb
  1. Keep or withhold oneself.
  2. Refrain from (something or doing something); keep from doing, especially an indulgence.
  3. To refrain from drinking alcohol.
  4. Fast (not eat for a period).
  5. Deliberately refrain from casting one's vote at a meeting where one is present.
  6. Hinder; keep back; withhold.

Pronunciation

/əbˈsteɪn/ /æbˈsteɪn/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-abstain.wav

Word forms

abstain abstains abstaining abstained no-table-tags glossary abstainest abstainedst abstaineth

Etymology

First attested around 1380. From Middle English absteynen, absteinen, abstenen, from Old French astenir, abstenir, from Latin abstineō (“to hold oneself back”) from abs- (“from”) + teneō (“to hold”). See also tenable.

Synonyms

abjure deny oneself forbear forgo give up refrain relinquish withhold

Related words

abstemious abstinence abstinent

Derived words

abstainable abstainer abstainment abstention nonabstaining

Translations

Arabic: اِمْتَنَعَ Bangi: kila Bulgarian: въздържам се Catalan: abstenir-se Chinese Mandarin: 避免 Chinese Mandarin: 戒除 Chinese Mandarin: 棄權 /弃权 Czech: zdržet se Danish: afholde sig Danish: afstå Danish: afholde sig (fra at stemme) Dutch: zich onthouden Dutch: abstineren Dutch: zich onthouden (van stemming) Esperanto: abstini Finnish: kieltäytyä Finnish: pidättäytyä Finnish: äänestää tyhjää French: s'abstenir German: verzichten German: sich enthalten Gothic: 𐌲𐌰𐌸𐌰𐍂𐌱𐌰𐌽 Hebrew: התנזר Hebrew: נמנע Hungarian: tartózkodik Hungarian: (meg)tartóztatja magát Ido: abstenar Italian: astenersi Japanese: 慎む Japanese: 差し控える Japanese: 投票を棄権する Latin: abstineo Lingala: kila Māori: papare Māori: pare Māori: wainamu Mongo: kila Norwegian Bokmål: abstinere Norwegian Bokmål: avholde seg Norwegian Bokmål: avstå Norwegian Bokmål: stemme blankt Old English: forbūgan Polish: powstrzymywać się Polish: powstrzymać się Polish: wstrzymywać się Polish: wstrzymać się Portuguese: abster-se Portuguese: privar-se Romanian: abține Serbo-Croatian: suzdržávati Serbo-Croatian: суздржа́вати Serbo-Croatian: sustezati Serbo-Croatian: сустезати Serbo-Croatian: apstinírati Serbo-Croatian: апстини́рати Serbo-Croatian: uzdr̀žati Sinhalese: වළකිනවා Slovene: vzdržati se Spanish: abstenerse Swedish: avhålla sig Swedish: avstå Swedish: lägga ned sin röst Swedish: röstskolka Tày: căm Ukrainian: утри́муватися Ukrainian: утри́матися Woiwurrung: nin'wilt-teni Armenian: ձեռնպահ լինել Lao: ງົດອອກສຽງ Russian: возде́рживаться Russian: воздержа́ться Thai: งดออกเสียง
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
Back to search All on A Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary