refrained

VERB

do without; keep from doing

Synonyms

STRONGEST

abstain avoid cease curb desist forgo halt renounce resist restrain

STRONG

arrest check eschew forbear inhibit interrupt keep pass quit stop withhold

WEAK

be temperate give up go on the wagon leave off not do pass up sit out take the cure take the pledge

Antonyms

STRONGEST

carry on continue indulge keep on use

STRONG

aid allow assist encourage help let go release

WEAK

do go ahead jump in

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“I, however, refrained from offering any projections of my own, consistent with my long-held views on the SEP, at least as currently structured.”

From Barron's • Jun. 17, 2026

But, unlike Hezbollah, which attacked Israel on March 2, three days after the U.S. and Israeli campaign on Iran, the Houthis had refrained from helping their ally, until Monday.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026

But Ueda on Wednesday refrained from giving any hints on the timing of the bank’s next move.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 27, 2026

Although the budget documents note the potential for gains from SpaceX, Anthropic and OpenAI, each of which have a significant labor force in the state, the government refrained from estimating the impact.

From MarketWatch • May 19, 2026

And yes, I refrained from saying, “Or herself. It could be a girl.”

From "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher