ABSTAINED Synonyms: 31 Similar and Opposite Words

abstained

verb

past tense of abstain

as in refused

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for abstained

Verb

In February, Trump appointee Vinay Prasad—a Kennedy ally—refused to even review the vaccine, despite objections from FDA staff and career officials, shocking Moderna and the larger biomedical community.

— Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 6 Aug. 2026
Thursday's vote was along party lines, and came after Fauci refused to answer lawmakers' questions in a hearing last week about the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, citing his Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination.

— Eric McDaniel, NPR, 6 Aug. 2026

Definition of refused

Verb

The bill passed by the Senate, but the House of Representatives rejected the measure in February.

— Alexandra Skores, CNN Money, 13 Aug. 2026
Forest are also still keen on Lucas Bergvall, the Swedish international, although Tottenham’s valuation of the midfielder could be a stumbling block, with the London club having already rejected one bid.

— Paul Taylor, New York Times, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of rejected

Verb

But shortly after the Edinburgh screening, Tuttle revealed the film had been turned down by every major festival it had been submitted to because of its subject matter.

— Zac Ntim, Deadline, 5 Aug. 2026
The court turned down his bid to impose sanctions for ignoring evidence undermining her claims, saying there’s no evidence of bad faith.

— Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 3 Aug. 2026

Definition of turned down

Verb

Incumbents hesitated, but young and diverse civic-minded men and women jumped at a chance to compete on a level playing field for state offices.

— Elona Vaisnys, Hartford Courant, 9 Aug. 2026
When Kimmel hesitated when guessing Spaghetti & Meatball, Affleck and Ding called upon Ding’s trivia partner Stephen Morrison, who opted not to answer.

— Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 30 July 2026

Definition of hesitated

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

abstain

abstained

abstained (from)

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Abstained.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abstained. Accessed 14 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of abstained

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster on abstained

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

vacuous

Popular in Grammar & Usage

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Words of the Week - Aug. 14

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes