Abstained
to hold oneself back voluntarily, especially from something regarded as improper or unhealthy (usually followed by from):
to abstain from eating meat.
to refrain from casting one’s vote:
a referendum in which two delegates abstained.
contemporary examples
the russians, who abstained rather than using their veto, were horrified to see how quickly r2p morphed into regime change.
the u.n. sanctions intervening to protect civilians, so why not in syria? lindsey hilsum june 7, 2012
mitt romney, who has abstained from the frenzy so far, asks whether the state sales tax will go away; cain called it an orange.
best moments from the gop debate the daily beast video october 18, 2011
mark had abstained from s-x and drinking during college while his dad was so sick.
jenny sanford spills the daily beast february 4, 2010
in 1978, as knesset speaker, he abstained in the vote on the camp david accords with egypt.
the last revolutionary gershom gorenberg july 1, 2012
brazil, russia, india, china, and germany all abstained in the u.n. vote on military action in libya.
the lopsided u.n. security council vote on libya shirin tahir-kheli march 18, 2011
historical examples
his effort might have been a greater success if he had abstained from jocularity, which was not by any means his forte.
in brief authority f. anstey
he drank three cups of tea, but abstained from food entirely.
the secret agent joseph conrad
i abstained from watching him, for i had no desire to spoil his evening sport by taunting him to continue his experiment.
kentucky in american letters, v. 1 of 2 john wilson townsend
however, we forgave each other, as we had abstained from the chief liberty.
the memoires of casanova, complete jacques casanova de seingalt
their designs were facilitated by the circ-mstance that turkey had abstained from sending troops into the province.
encyclopaedia britannica, 11th edition, volume 4, part 4 various
verb (intransitive) usually foll by from
to choose to refrain: he abstained from alcohol
to refrain from voting, esp in a committee, legislature, etc
v.
late 14c., “to withhold oneself,” from old french abstenir (14c.), earlier astenir (13c.) “hold (oneself) back, refrain, abstain (from), practice abstinence,” from latin abstinere “withhold, keep back, keep off,” from ab(s)- “from, away from” (see ab-) + tenere “to hold” (see tenet). specifically of liquor, attested from late 14c. of voting, 1796. related: abstained; abstaining.
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sparing or moderate in eating and drinking; temperate in diet. characterized by abstinence: an abstemious life. sparing: an abstemious diet. historical examples he ate on, rapidly but abstemiously, and finished before mr. bylash, who had had twenty minutes’ start of him. queed henry sydnor harrison adjective moderate or sparing, esp in the consumption of alcohol […]
- Abstemiousness
sparing or moderate in eating and drinking; temperate in diet. characterized by abstinence: an abstemious life. sparing: an abstemious diet. historical examples true, i’ve since made call at an hotel, but you don’t give me credit for my abstemiousness! gwen wynn mayne reid of true puritan abstemiousness, his only indulgence was chewing tobacco. the crisis, […]
- Abstention
an act or instance of . withholding of a vote. contemporary examples a second diplomat told the daily beast that a chinese abstention may be “inevitable.” punishing the mullahs michael adler february 9, 2010 a diplomat told the daily beast that a chinese abstention on the u.n. vote may be “inevitable.” punishing the mullahs michael […]
- Abstentionism
the refusal of a government to partic-p-te in international relations or alliances that it regards as detrimental to its interests.
- Abstentionist
the refusal of a government to partic-p-te in international relations or alliances that it regards as detrimental to its interests.