as in to keep (from)
to resist the temptation of
couldn't refrain from ruffling her nephew's neatly combed hair whenever she saw him
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Recent Examples of Synonyms for refrain (from)
avoid
Verb
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The movie also acknowledges that there is a climate crisis, but tries to avoid having viewers frozen with fear.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
18 June 2025 -
But Augustin pleaded guilty to second-degree assault as a hate crime, avoiding even more prison time if he had been convicted by a Queens jury on the manslaughter charge.—
Sheetal Banchariya,
New York Daily News,
18 June 2025
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“Refrain (from).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/refrain%20%28from%29. Accessed 29 Jun. 2025.
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