ABSTAINING Synonyms: 31 Similar and Opposite Words

abstaining

verb

present participle of abstain

as in refusing

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for abstaining

Verb

Oyer said she was fired for refusing to write a letter to then-Attorney General Pam Bondi recommending that actor Mel Gibson have his firearm rights restored.

— Jack Harvel, Kansas City Star, 22 July 2026
But more often, those fighting trafficking live in their own silos, doing their own work, and often failing or refusing to share even scant details with other jurisdictions.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 21 July 2026

Definition of refusing

Verb

One bill sought to lower the threshold for rejecting district court judges in retention elections from 50% of the vote plus one to 40%.

— Sophie Lindberg, Kansas City Star, 24 July 2026
White collar workers are rejecting their company’s AI tools, just as protests against data centers increase across the country.

— Mia Osmonbekov, Fortune, 23 July 2026

Definition of rejecting

Verb

Rock Hill Mayor John Gettys said the city has spent four years turning down redevelopment offers for Palmetto Research Park in an effort to hold the property for higher-wage employers.

— John Marks, Charlotte Observer, 2 July 2026
Value your time by turning down unpaid tasks.

— Tarot.com, Chicago Tribune, 17 June 2026

Definition of turning down

Verb

The book does often feel like a recording of a mental jam session, but there is also a sense of being guided by a kind of hesitating yet urgent voice that needs to get things figured out.

— Craig Morgan Teicher, Literary Hub, 1 June 2026
While their rivals started spending significant sums of money as soon as the 2024-25 season finished, Spurs wasted a couple of weeks hesitating about the long-term future of then head coach Ange Postecoglou before replacing him with Thomas Frank.

— David Ornstein, New York Times, 29 May 2026

Definition of hesitating

Verb

However, declining vaccination rates fueled by vaccine hesitancy have created pockets of susceptible individuals where the virus can spread quickly.

— Omer Awan, Forbes.com, 24 July 2026
Idaho’s divorce rate has been steadily declining for nearly half a century, and since 2020, has been below the low-water mark set in 1956, according to data collected since 1950.

— Idaho Statesman, Idaho Statesman, 23 July 2026

Definition of declining

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.

Cite this Entry

Style

“Abstaining.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abstaining. Accessed 24 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of abstaining

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster on abstaining

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

itinerant

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

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

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

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

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

Popular in Wordplay

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 24

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?

Popular

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes