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

The Daily Express headlines on Burnham's vow to abstain in the assisted dying vote and remain neutral when the bill returns to the Commons.

From BBC ● Aug. 28, 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

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

Abby now abstains from video sites and TV, Maggie uses library computers for online access, and Sophia's sponsor keeps her in check when she needs to use the internet.

From BBC ● Feb. 7, 2024

I wonder why Therese abstains from food, though she is not bound by the nun’s vows.

From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein

In Caracas, some opposition lawmakers abstained from the show-of-hands vote to approve the US deal, arguing that they should be able to view the written terms before making a decision.

From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 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

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

From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2026

“I abstained because I did not see sufficient evidence to justify extending this emergency ordinance, nor did I see evidence to eliminate it entirely,” Hahn said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 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

Senedd members voted to bring in the ban by 39 votes to 10, with two MSs abstaining.

From BBC ● Mar. 17, 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

I remember reading about Pythagoras around this time, and finding some of his ideas curiously appealing—wearing white garments, for instance, or abstaining from foods which have a soul.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt