abstain

«abstain» in Mova's school dictionary: to choose not to do something you might enjoy, like… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

part of speech

verb (abstain, abstains, abstained, abstaining)

meaning for a pupil

1) (formal) To abstain is to choose not to do something you might enjoy, like eating sweets or drinking alcohol. tree →

2) To abstain in a vote is to choose not to vote for or against. tree →

sense in the lessons

A formal word used in exam language, health and in voting. In class votes, some may abstain. In health, people abstain from sugar or alcohol. In maths problems about voting, abstentions are counted apart from yes and no votes. Followed by «from».

examples

• Grandad abstains from sugar in his tea. tree →
• Three pupils abstained in the class vote. tree →
• During the fast, they abstain from food until sunset. tree →
• She abstained from chocolate for a whole month. tree →
• Of 30 voters, 18 said yes, 9 said no, and 3 abstained. tree →
• He abstained from arguing and stayed calm. tree →
• She not only abstained from beating him, but encouraged him. tree →

note

Formal; everyday words are «give up», «go without», «not vote». Noun: abstention (in voting), abstinence (going without). In maths: total votes = yes + no + abstentions.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «abstain» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.