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The Collaborative International Dictionary
Abstaining

Abstain \Ab*stain"\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Abstained; p. pr. & vb. n. Abstaining.] [OE. absteynen, abstenen, OF. astenir, abstenir, F. abstenir, fr. L. abstinere, abstentum, v. t. & v. i., to keep from; ab, abs + tenere to hold. See Tenable.] To hold one's self aloof; to forbear or refrain voluntarily, and especially from an indulgence of the passions or appetites; -- with from.

Not a few abstained from voting.
--Macaulay.

Who abstains from meat that is not gaunt?
--Shak.

Syn: To refrain; forbear; withhold; deny one's self; give up; relinquish.

Wiktionary
abstaining

vb. (present participle of abstain English)

Usage examples of "abstaining".

During that long tete-a-tete I had no difficulty in abstaining from bestowing any caresses upon her.

It is Lord Brock's own doing too, after all that he has said about abstaining from factious opposition to the Government.

Writing more and more smartly, he found the usual difficulty in abstaining from a smartness which was unjust because irrelevant.