abstain
Example Sentences
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Some said they plan to abstain; others said they’ll hold their nose and vote.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 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
Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández issued a statement calling on Catholics around the world to abstain from attending Mass with the group.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
Better to abstain from the gardens of delectable delights than to be stuck planting them, dawn to dusk.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
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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
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The U.K. and European countries abstained from voting.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026
Fourteen of the CDU's state MPs took part in the vote, but only five of them abstained as planned, and one unconfirmed report suggested four may have backed Rausch.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
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
More than a third of the senators abstained from voting.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
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It could formally join his governing coalition, a rare but not unprecedented arrangement, or offer outside support by abstaining from key votes, allowing his bloc to command a parliamentary majority without formally joining the government.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
The board voted 4-0 to place binding arbitration on the Nov. 3 ballot, with Mitchell abstaining.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026
After five years of abstaining, a giant chip maker has returned to the bond market.
From Barron's ● Jun. 15, 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
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
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Vocabulary lists containing abstain
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