abstained

verb

past tense of abstain
as in refused

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for abstained
  1. refused
  2. rejected
  3. turned down
  4. hesitated
  5. temporized
Verb
  • Faubus refused to remove the Arkansas National Guard and allow the Little Rock Nine to matriculate at the school.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 4 Nov. 2026
  • The race to represent Montana in the upper chamber had long been viewed as Alme’s to lose, after both Bodnar and Bankhead refused to drop out in order to consolidate the Democratic vote.
    — Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of refused
Verb
  • She’s gotten used to trying, and trying again; while applying for fiction writing classes in college, Adeyemi says, she was rejected five semesters in a row.
    — Wisdom Iheanyichukwu, Vanity Fair, 2 Nov. 2026
  • The three Republicans on the court backed the proposal, arguing the poll sites were underutilized, while the two Democrats rejected it.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of rejected
Verb
  • Australia coach Tony Popovic, who guided the Socceroos to the knockout stage of the 2026 World Cup, turned down a four-year contract extension in September in favor of a shorter deal through the Asian Cup.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 Nov. 2026
  • Fast-forward to Arjona’s campaign shoot, and the excitement hadn’t turned down a notch.
    — Vogue, Vogue, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of turned down
Verb
  • Valkyria hesitated for a split second and Bayley took advantage.
    — Ryan Gaydos OutKick, FOXNews.com, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Defenders hesitated between hedging and switching, allowing screeners to slip toward the rim.
    — C.J. Holmes, New York Daily News, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of hesitated
Verb
  • Assad lied and temporized, the official said.
    — Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 6 Feb. 2026
Definition of temporized
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

“Abstained.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abstained. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of quondam

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

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

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

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Old-Timey Vehicles

The Words of the Week - Nov. 6

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
woman sitting on floor holding book in front of her face on pink background
Famous Novels, Last Lines Quiz Needless to say, spoiler alert.
See All