abstaining

Definition of abstainingnext
present participle of abstain

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for abstaining
Verb
  • In December 2025, Horan’s lawyer told him Prospect was refusing to defend him or pay any of his costs.
    Peter Elkind, ProPublica, 9 Apr. 2026
  • In the show’s second season, Mo (creator-star Mo Amer) finds himself in Mexico, facing down the immigration system while refusing to compromise his beliefs, ultimately risking everything to cross the border illegally in search of home.
    Hilary Lewis, HollywoodReporter, 9 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • Xi’s outreach to Cheng came along with overt swipes at Taiwan’s current government under President Lai Ching-te, who is shunned by Beijing as a dangerous ‘separatist’ for rejecting China’s claim that Taiwan is its territory.
    Janis Mackey Frayer, NBC news, 10 Apr. 2026
  • The law, criticized by free speech advocates, allows a top official at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to designate a group as a domestic or foreign terrorist organization, with the governor and three other members of the Florida Cabinet approving or rejecting the designation.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 7 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • Some also favor turning down the heat and simmering eggs.
    ABC News, ABC News, 2 Apr. 2026
  • But after turning down the 30-year payout, the winnings dropped to $57 million before taxes.
    Dave Lieber, Dallas Morning News, 19 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • The Academy seems comfortable celebrating individual excellence within horror while hesitating to crown its films as definitive achievements.
    Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 17 Mar. 2026
  • Palmer is the center of the film and building the cast around her initially had Riley hesitating.
    Mikey O'Connell, HollywoodReporter, 13 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • Emergency managers from several states say the funding backlog is having a ripple effect in communities, straining local budgets and delaying or potentially derailing disaster projects that have taken years to plan.
    Brittney Melton, NPR, 10 Apr. 2026
  • At the time, ICE blamed weather conditions for delaying transfers.
    Dennis Valera, CBS News, 10 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • Antarctic sea ice is declining at record rates, according to climate scientists.
    ABC News, ABC News, 9 Apr. 2026
  • The new listings, published Wednesday by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, cite factors such as warming ocean waters, melting sea ice and declining availability of food to sustain such species.
    Andrew Freedman, CNN Money, 9 Apr. 2026
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Abstaining.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abstaining. Accessed 14 Apr. 2026.

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