abstain

verb

ab·​stain əb-ˈstān 

ab-

abstained; abstaining; abstains

intransitive verb

1

: to choose not to do or have something : to refrain deliberately and often with an effort of self-denial from an action or practice

abstain from drinking

2

: to choose not to vote

Ten members voted for the proposal, six members voted against it, and two abstained.

abstainer noun

Did you know?

If you abstain, you're consciously, and usually with effort, choosing to hold back from doing something that you would like to do. Lucky for you, we’d never abstain from sharing a good bit of word history. Abstain traces back through Middle English and Anglo-French to the Latin verb abstinēre, which combines the prefix ab- ("from, away, off") with tenēre, a Latin verb meaning "to hold." (Spanish speakers might recognize tenēre’s influence in the Spanish verb tener, meaning "to have, hold, or take.") Tenēre has many offspring in English; other descendants include contain, detain, maintain, obtain, pertain, retain, and sustain, as well as some words that don’t end in -tain, such as tenant and tenacious. Abstain, like many of its cousins, has been used by English speakers since at least the 14th century.

Synonyms of abstain

• keep (from)
• refrain (from)
• avoid
• withhold (from)

Examples of abstain in a Sentence

Ten members voted for the proposal, six members voted against it, and two abstained.

Recent Examples on the Web

In 2024, China abstained from a UN Security Council vote condemning the placement of nuclear weapons in outer space—a motion supported by all other members except Russia. —Elizabeth Economy, Foreign Affairs, 9 Dec. 2025

The controversial bill passed with a relatively solid majority in the end, with 323 lawmakers voting yes, 272 voting no and one abstaining. —Sophie Tanno, CNN Money, 5 Dec. 2025

The panel voted 6-4, with one member abstaining, to recommend testing children's antibody levels after each hepatitis B shot to determine whether additional shots are needed. —Pien Huang, NPR, 5 Dec. 2025

In December 2024, University of Michigan researchers found that the percentage of students who abstained from drugs reached record levels that year. —Marni Rose McFall, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English absteinen, abstenen, borrowed from Anglo-French asteign-, absteign-, stem of astenir, abstenir, borrowed (with conjugation change, conformed to tenir) from Latin abstinēre "to keep from, hold back, refrain, withhold oneself from," from abs- (variant of ab- ab- before c- and t-) + tenēre "to hold, occupy, possess" — more at tenant entry 1

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for abstain

• airplane
• alkane
• arcane
• arraign
• attain
• backplane
• betaine
• biplane
• blockchain
• butane
• campaign
• cetane

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Kids Definition

abstain

verb

ab·​stain əb-ˈstān 

: to keep oneself from doing something

abstain from voting

abstainer noun

Medical Definition

abstain

intransitive verb

ab·​stain əb-ˈstān, ab- 

: to refrain deliberately and often with an effort of self-denial from an action or practice (as consumption of a food or a drug or indulgence in sexual intercourse)

abstainer noun

Legal Definition

abstain

intransitive verb

ab·​stain əb-ˈstān, ab- 

: to refrain from exercising federal jurisdiction over a case : cause an abstention

federal courts should normally abstain from intervening in pending court-martial proceedings

—Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, 548 U.S. 557 (2006)