as in to refuse
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Recent Examples of abstain
Its various definitions throughout the history of language make clear that, whether by going away, retreating from or abstaining from having to do with, to leave is, essentially, to allow to survive.
—
Ashley Lee, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2025
Pacific island nations, who have been pushing for more ambition all week, chose to abstain.
—Ingmar Rentzhog, Forbes.com, 12 Apr. 2025
Patients with desk jobs are usually back to work within a week or two, but have to abstain from exercise until cleared by their surgeon.
—Jolene Edgar, Allure, 10 Apr. 2025
The procedure allows a new mother member who must be absent for a vote to coordinate with a lawmaker voting opposite their stance to abstain from the vote.
—Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 7 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for abstain
Ashley Lee, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2025
Pacific island nations, who have been pushing for more ambition all week, chose to abstain.
—Ingmar Rentzhog, Forbes.com, 12 Apr. 2025
Patients with desk jobs are usually back to work within a week or two, but have to abstain from exercise until cleared by their surgeon.
—Jolene Edgar, Allure, 10 Apr. 2025
The procedure allows a new mother member who must be absent for a vote to coordinate with a lawmaker voting opposite their stance to abstain from the vote.
—Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 7 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for abstain
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abstain
Verb
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When one player refused and wanted to take a photo of the statement, the player was allegedly denied a chance and warned ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi would find out about his response.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
8 May 2025
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Both have also been vocally critical of giving more military and financial assistance to Ukraine and have previously threatened refused to back the EU’s regular extensions of sanctions against Russia.—
Holly Ellyatt,
CNBC,
8 May 2025
Verb
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The judge has now said that’s not good enough, and rejected Bungie’s motion to dismiss.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
3 May 2025
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Shirley has discovered that Conrad was rejected for a job at UNIT eight years ago.—
Jennifer Zhan,
Vulture,
3 May 2025
Verb
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The largest obstacles were Jo finding a way to turn down her future mother- in-law’s questionable makeup artist talent and veil offering and Link struggling with his vows.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
8 May 2025
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President Donald Trump said that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has turned down his offer to deploy American troops into Mexico to fight against the country's drug cartels.—
James Bickerton,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 May 2025
Verb
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Ask Questions And Remain Curious For early-career entrants, the entire process is new, including securing an internship, so don't hesitate to ask questions.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
8 May 2025
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And Brinkley didn’t hesitate to share her diet regimen.—
Stephanie Nolasco,
FOXNews.com,
8 May 2025
Verb
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Romney's Cass took Obama to task for opposing development of the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge and for temporizing on the Keystone pipeline, while Obama's Aldy accused Romney of being insensitive to the environment and to the needs and desires of future generations.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
9 Oct. 2012
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Accompanying these principles must be a rejection of the impulse to temporize about the dangers that confront us and a rejection of the bizarre deprecation of our nation and civilization.—
Peter J. Travers,
National Review,
29 Mar. 2022
Cite this Entry
“Abstain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abstain. Accessed 15 May. 2025.
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