abstain

To pay my respect, I ate not only for myself but my whole family, whose allergies and aversions led them to abstain.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

"We must intensify efforts to help people quit tobacco use, avoid cancer-linked infections, abstain from alcohol, maintain a healthy weight, and get more daily exercise."

From Science Daily ● Sep. 7, 2026

Mayra Goulart, political science professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, told AFP the main challenge for Lula and Flavio will be to reach "disengaged voters" who are highly likely to abstain.

From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026

Such “orphaned” voters — those left without a candidate of their party in a general election — are historically just as likely to abstain from voting or to vote based on far less strategic considerations.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026

I told him that I intended to abstain while in exile.

From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin

He, too, said he abstains from getting involved due to the damage illegal mining does to the land, especially as a result of the chemicals used for extracting gold.

From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026

Even if Warsh abstains again, the other 18 senior Fed members are all expected to submit their own dots.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026

Recently persuaded by her teen daughter, Mae, to join social media, Hahn abstains from reading the comments.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 26, 2024

Their motion could be successful if at least one Labour Senedd member either rebels, abstains or does not take part.

From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2024

I don’t know if the hose were clean, but I do notice that everyone on the show abstains from drinking lemonade that day.

From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen

Botelho said Lula will attempt to rally those who cast blank votes, and the 33 million who abstained -- representing 21 percent of registered voters.

From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026

Mediobanca—itself Assicurazioni Generali’s top shareholder—last year saw an offer for Banca Generali derailed by its own investors, who failed to approve the move after a top shareholder abstained from the vote.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

When he was previously an MP he abstained from a 2015 vote on another bill to legalise assisted dying because of concerns over safeguards and people feeling under pressure.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

As an MP in 2015, Burnham abstained on another effort to legalise assisted dying.

From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2026

She could have made an inquiry or two, as to the expedition and the expense of the Irish mails;—it was at her tongue’s end—but she abstained.

From "Emma" by Jane Austen

District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong said in an order granting a preliminary injunction that the government “is regularly abstaining from conducting a likelihood of escape analysis at all” when making arrests without a warrant.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

In his view, they can "bring young people back to politics", especially those particularly prone to abstaining from voting.

From Barron's ● Jun. 3, 2026

A joint sitting of both houses of parliament on Saturday passed the bill changing the constitution, which now requires the president's signature, with 200 lawmakers voting in favour, 18 against and four abstaining.

From BBC ● Apr. 4, 2026

Los Angeles’s city council passed the measure in November by a 12-2 vote, with one member abstaining.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 30, 2025

Even when Ramadan arrived during the season and I had to play volleyball and fence while fasting from sunrise to sunset, abstaining from food and water, I still didn’t want to quit.

From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad