as in to refuse
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Recent Examples of abstain
Fasting is abstaining from eating for a specific time period.
—
Jillian Kubala, Health, 19 Feb. 2025
Ninety-three countries supported the resolution; 65 abstained, including China.
—Bret Stephens, The Mercury News, 27 Feb. 2025
The local population will be abstaining from food and water and seeing treats being consumed doesn’t exactly make fasting any easier.
—Kaitlyn McInnis, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2025
This way, the United States could abstain from sending its military forces to defend Taiwan if China invades the island and does not attack U.S. bases or warships.
—Jennifer Kavanagh, Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for abstain
Jillian Kubala, Health, 19 Feb. 2025
Ninety-three countries supported the resolution; 65 abstained, including China.
—Bret Stephens, The Mercury News, 27 Feb. 2025
The local population will be abstaining from food and water and seeing treats being consumed doesn’t exactly make fasting any easier.
—Kaitlyn McInnis, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2025
This way, the United States could abstain from sending its military forces to defend Taiwan if China invades the island and does not attack U.S. bases or warships.
—Jennifer Kavanagh, Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for abstain
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abstain
Verb
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In hearings at the Constitutional Court, which is deliberating whether to formally remove Mr. Yoon from office, both Lieutenant General Lee and Lieutenant General Yeo refused to discuss details of their roles for fear that their testimony would be used against them during their own criminal trials.—
Choe Sang-Hun,
New York Times,
10 Mar. 2025
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In response, the woman not only refused to bake a cake this year but also skipped the party altogether.—
William Lambers,
Newsweek,
9 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Supreme Court Justice Roberts rejects Trump’s call for impeaching a judge who ruled against his deportation plans.—
Ryan Fonseca,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Mar. 2025
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Gaga rejects a string of Latin suitors — Alejandro, Fernando, Roberto — via melodies that evoke ABBA and Madonna, over a thumping beat, like Ace of Base gone EDM.—
Kristen S. Hé,
Vulture,
19 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Gaga then turned down the tempo and started making jazz and soundtrack fare, with only occasional and fairly minor pop detours.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
10 Mar. 2025
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Bay, legally, couldn’t be on site for any of the doc’s filming, but couldn’t turn down the directing opp.—
Emily Longeretta,
Variety,
8 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Reach out to people, don’t hesitate to ask questions and don’t always focus on specializing—the world out there today is (often) seeking generalists.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes,
10 Mar. 2025
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Lilian hesitated and said there was something else that Dr. Fenton might want to know, which had nothing to do with the infection and was not the reason for the appointment.—
Yiyun Li,
The New Yorker,
9 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Romney's Cass took Obama to task for opposing development of the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge and for temporizing on the Keystone pipeline, while Obama's Aldy accused Romney of being insensitive to the environment and to the needs and desires of future generations.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
9 Oct. 2012
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Accompanying these principles must be a rejection of the impulse to temporize about the dangers that confront us and a rejection of the bizarre deprecation of our nation and civilization.—
Peter J. Travers,
National Review,
29 Mar. 2022
Cite this Entry
“Abstain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abstain. Accessed 22 Mar. 2025.
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