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What does abstain mean?

Looking for the meaning or definition of the word abstain? Here's what it means.

Verb
  1. (transitive, reflexive, obsolete) Keep or withhold oneself. [Attested from around 1350 to 1470 until the mid 16th century.]
  2. (intransitive) Refrain from (something); hold oneself aloof; to forbear or keep from doing, especially an indulgence of the passions or appetites. [First attested around 1350 to 1470.]
  3. (intransitive, obsolete) Fast. [First attested around 1350 to 1470.]
  4. (intransitive) Deliberately refrain from casting one's vote at a meeting where one is present. [First attested around 1350 to 1470.]
  5. (transitive, obsolete) Hinder; keep back; withhold. [Attested from the early 16th century until the mid 17th century.]
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Examples
Individuals who drink about those amounts live longer than those who abstain.
Medieval monastics sought to abstain from enjoying daily life, lest they prefer it to God.
Also, a member state could abstain in a vote and make a formal declaration that it would not be bound by the vote.
Young people, pregnant women and those who might worsen an already existing physical problem by drinking any alcohol are told to abstain.
To forgo the leisured lifestyle, to abstain from epicurean pleasures of over-indulgence, is no mean task.
It goes without saying that drivers should abstain or strictly control the amount they drink.

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