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“abstaining”
abstain (ab STAYN, uhb STAYN) (verb), abstains; abstained; abstaining
To refrain from something by one's own choice or voluntarily: "The final vote on the motion in the House of Representatives had a majority in favor of the bill; however, the rest of the Representatives abstained."
From Latin abs-, "from" + tenere, "to hold".
This entry is located in the following unit:
English Words in Action, Group A +
(page 4)
Word Entries at Word Info:
“abstaining”
abstain (verb), abstains; abstained; abstaining
1. Choosing not to do or to have something: "Clarence is abstaining from taking part in the discussion."
2. The process of choosing not to vote: "Some members of the committee were not voting for the proposal; six members were voting against it and two were abstaining."
3. To hold oneself back or to voluntarily do without something; to refrain from doing something: "It is a struggle to abstain from eating a large slice of chocolate birthday cake."
2. The process of choosing not to vote: "Some members of the committee were not voting for the proposal; six members were voting against it and two were abstaining."
3. To hold oneself back or to voluntarily do without something; to refrain from doing something: "It is a struggle to abstain from eating a large slice of chocolate birthday cake."
This entry is located in the following units:
a-, ab-, abs-
(page 13)
ten-, tent-, tin-, -tain, -tainment, -tenance, -tinence
(page 1)
abstaining (adjective)
A reference to the avoidance of some activity and not using harmful substances; such as alcohol, drugs, or fatty foods, etc.: "The abstaining couple improved their health and well being by not using hard liquor or any other kind of intoxicants anymore."
This entry is located in the following units:
a-, ab-, abs-
(page 13)
ten-, tent-, tin-, -tain, -tainment, -tenance, -tinence
(page 1)