ABSTAIN

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does abstain mean? 

• ABSTAIN (verb)
  The verb ABSTAIN has 2 senses:

1. refrain from voting

2. choose not to consume

  Familiarity information: ABSTAIN used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ABSTAIN (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they abstain    ... he / she / it abstains   
Past simple: abstained   
Past participle: abstained   
-ing form: abstaining   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Refrain from voting

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "abstain" is one way to...):

forbear; refrain (resist doing something)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Sense 2

Meaning:

Choose not to consume

Classified under:

Verbs of eating and drinking

Synonyms:

abstain; desist; refrain

Context example:

I abstain from alcohol

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "abstain"):

fast (abstain from eating)

fast (abstain from certain foods, as for religious or medical reasons)

avoid; keep off (refrain from certain foods or beverages)

teetotal (practice teetotalism and abstain from the consumption of alcoholic beverages)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP
Somebody ----s VERB-ing

Antonym:

consume (serve oneself to, or consume regularly)

Derivation:

abstainer (a person who refrains from drinking intoxicating beverages)

abstainer (someone who practices self denial as a spiritual discipline)

abstention; abstinence (the trait of abstaining (especially from alcohol))

abstinent (a person who refrains from drinking intoxicating beverages)

abstinent (self-restraining; not indulging an appetite especially for food or drink)

 Context examples 

The study focused on current drinkers to reduce the risk of bias caused by those who abstain from alcohol due to poor health.

(Drinking more than five pints a week could shorten your life, University of Cambridge)

It was not so difficult to abstain from seeing her, because of the violent heat of creative fever that burned in him.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

She could have made an inquiry or two, as to the expedition and the expense of the Irish mails;—it was at her tongue's end—but she abstained.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

A quantitative measurement of the amount of glucose present in a sample of blood, obtained from a source that has abstained from nutrition, typically at least 8 hours prior to the sample collection time.

(Fasting Blood Sugar Measurement, NCI Thesaurus)

A specimen obtained from a subject who has abstained from food and possibly water, according to the prescribed amount of time.

(Fasting Specimen, NCI Thesaurus)

An indication or description of whether a laboratory specimen was obtained from a subject that has abstained from food and possibly water for the prescribed amount of time.

(Laboratory Test Fasting Status, NCI Thesaurus)

A specimen obtained from a subject who has not abstained from food or water.

(Non-Fasting Specimen, NCI Thesaurus)

Satisfied that the cause was now on a footing the most proper and hopeful, Sir Thomas resolved to abstain from all farther importunity with his niece, and to shew no open interference.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

Specifies whether the subject has abstained from food and possibly water for the prescribed amount of time.

(Fasting Status Indicator, NCI Thesaurus)

Indicates whether a specimen that had undergone a pharmacokinetic concentration assessment was obtained from a subject that had abstained from food and possibly water for the prescribed amount of time.

(Pharmacokinetic Concentration Fasting Status, NCI Thesaurus)