abstain
abstain is defined in Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1913) with 2 senses, and appears in Roget's Thesaurus (1911) with 40 related terms. The full text of each entry is reproduced verbatim below.
Definitions
- 1.To hold one's self aloof; to forbear or refrain voluntarily, and especially from an indulgence of the passions or appetites; -- with from. Not a few abstained from voting. Macaulay. Who abstains from meat that is not gaunt Shak.
- 2.To hinder; to withhold. Whether he abstain men from marrying. Milton.
Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
Synonyms
Synonyms (Webster's 1913)
- forbear
- give up
- relinquish
- to refrain
- withhold
Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
Related terms (Roget's 1911)
- abnegation
- abstainer
- abstemious
- abstemiousness
- abstinence
- abstinent
- alcoholic
- alone
- are
- aside
- away
- back
- cast
- compass
- deny
- destroy
- desuetude
- discard
- dismantle
- dismiss
- dispense
- disusage
- disuse
- done
- driver
- dry
- eject
- enough
- for
- forbear
- forbearance
- frugal
- frugality
- give
- gymnosophist
- habit
- had
- has
- have
- heave
Source: Roget's Thesaurus, 1911 edition (public domain, via Project Gutenberg eBook #10681).
Related questions
Reverse-dictionary questions
Definition-first questions whose answer is abstain.
Sources
- Definitions: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
- Synonyms: Roget's Thesaurus, 1911 edition (public domain, via Project Gutenberg eBook #10681).
- Canonical URL: https://worddirectanswers.com/word/abstain
- Steward: Jason Burns