abstain — OET

abstain

verb

1 during Lent, Benjamin abstained from wine:

refrain, desist, hold back, forbear, keep;

renounce, avoid, shun, eschew, abandon, abjure, forgo, go without, do without;

refuse, decline;

give up, have done with;

informal cut out, kick, quit, jack in, pack in.

▷antonyms indulge in.

2 our advice is about sensible drinking, not about abstaining:

be teetotal, be a teetotaller, take the pledge;

deny oneself;

informal be on the wagon.

▷antonyms drink.

3 262 voted against, 38 abstained:

not vote, decline/refuse to vote;

informal sit on the fence.

▷antonyms vote.

abstain Oxford Dictionary of English