Definition for Abstain:

• To hold one's self aloof; to forbear or refrain voluntarily, and especially from an indulgence of the passions or appetites; - with from.

Synonyms for Abstain:

• n.

  •
  • hold off,
  • neglect.

• v.

  •avoid (verb)
  • duck,
  • skip,
  • elude,
  • shrink,
  • recoil,
  • avoid,
  • dodge,
  • avert,
  • shirk,
  • sidestep,
  • shun,
  • escape,
  • circumvent,
  • bypass,
  • evade.
  •hold back from doing (verb)
  • constrain,
  • do without,
  • sit on the fence,
  • pass,
  • fence-sit,
  • refuse,
  • renounce,
  • sit on one's hands,
  • quit,
  • abnegate,
  • abjure,
  • stop,
  • give the go by,
  • cease.

Paraphrases for Abstain:

• Independent

  • Verb, non-3rd person singular present
    AM.
  • Verb, base form
    restrain, cease, withhold, stop, forgo, resist, abandon, forbear, refuse.

• Other Related

  • Noun, singular or mass
    refrain.
  • Verb, base form
    refrain, desist.

Antonyms for Abstain:

• v.

  • hold back from doing
    embrace, DO, allow, encourage, continue, face, indulge, want, use, meet, accept.
  • Other antonyms:
    enter upon, bow, capitulate, submit, originate, concede, start, succumb, have, initiate, yield, knuckle under, set about, acquiesce, commence, give in, institute, surrender, inaugurate, begin.

Homophones for Abstain:

• affectation, abjection, apposition, affixation, affection, avocation, avestan, abo system.

Hyponym for Abstain:

• v.

  • social
    forbear, refrain.