What does "refrain" mean?
Refrain: 2. To abstain from [Obs.] Who, requiring a remedy for his gout, received no other counsel than to refrain cold drink. Sir T. Browne.
Additional senses
- 2.To keep one's self from action or interference; to hold aloof; to forbear; to abstain. Refrain from these men, and let them alone. Acts v.
- 3.They refrained therefrom [eating flesh] some time after. Sir T. Browne.
- 4.The burden of a song; a phrase or verse which recurs at the end of each of the separate stanzas or divisions of a poetic composition. We hear the wild refrain. Whittier.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00