How to Use abstain in a Sentence

abstain

verb

• Ten members voted for the proposal, six members voted against it, and two abstained.
• But the thing that’s stuck with me the most from Dry January is that abstaining doesn’t have to be a drag.
  — Sarah Todd, Quartz, 31 Dec. 2019
• Four commissioners voted yes, two voted no and one abstained.
  — Ashley Luthern, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 19 Jan. 2020
• In the show, Mr. Ed had a puckish sense of humor but abstained from alcohol and no longer had a streak of nihilism.
  — Rachel Syme, The New Yorker, 5 Feb. 2020
• The bill passed with 30 votes in the Senate, with five Senators abstaining.
  — Trisha Powell Crain | [e-mail], al, 7 Jan. 2020
• In previous years, other restaurants have gone above and beyond to catch the attention of Catholics abstaining from meat.
  — Kelly McCarthy, ABC News, 20 Feb. 2020
• Instead of checking your teenager’s location for the seventh time, for example, try abstaining and see what happens.
  — Jelena Kecmanovic, Houston Chronicle, 24 Dec. 2019
• According to Hughes, Jones needs Republicans to abstain from voting or to proceed with a write-in vote.
  — al, 8 Jan. 2020
• Twelve members supported medical marijuana, three opposed it, and three abstained.
  — Mike Cason | [e-mail], al, 29 Dec. 2019
• One Democrat and two Republicans didn’t vote and another Democrat abstained.
  — oregonlive, 31 Dec. 2019
• Weirdly, however, seating a government requires only a simple majority—which can be less than sixty-one, if some members abstain.
  — Bernard Avishai, The New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2020
• The Duggars are known to abstain from alcohol, so seeing the 33-year-old TLC star with a boozy beverage caused a stir online.
  — Nina Turner, Newsweek, 29 Oct. 2024
• Of the 20 clubs, 14 agreed to the change, five voted against and one abstained.
  — The Associated Press, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2017
• Medvedev agreed to abstain and, a few hours later, the vote passed.
  — Kim Ghattas, The Atlantic, 6 Mar. 2022
• More than a dozen House members abstained from the vote.
  — CBS News, 30 May 2023
• Li got 2,936 votes, with three votes cast against him and eight abstained.
  — Laura He, CNN, 10 Mar. 2023
• Burnley chose to abstain, whilst the remaining 14 were in favour of the change.
  — SI.com, 26 Aug. 2019
• The most effective way to avoid any risks of cannabis use is to abstain from use.
  — James Hamblin, The Atlantic, 18 Aug. 2017
• As a result, the King abstains from elections to this day.
  — Anna Gordon, TIME, 24 May 2024
• The Netherlands hasn’t let go of the issue but agreed to abstain from the vote, allowing the plan to get the go-ahead.
  — Robert Goulder, Forbes, 5 July 2022
• But who will manage to abstain from hooking up, and who will break the rules in record time?
  — Amy MacKelden, ELLE, 8 Dec. 2022
• Two members abstained from the vote and three were absent.
  — Allison Kite, kansascity, 14 May 2018
• Many of these voters will abstain in the May 7 second round, polls show.
  — Helene Fouquet, Bloomberg.com, 28 Apr. 2017
• The judge ordered Wright to abstain from any substance abuse.
  — Jason Meisner, chicagotribune.com, 9 Dec. 2020
• The proposals passed with a total of 647 votes for and eight against, with five votes to abstain.
  — Jonathan M. Pitts, baltimoresun.com, 13 June 2019
• If the chief justice abstained from breaking a tie, the motion would fail.
  — Nicholas Fandos, New York Times, 30 Jan. 2020
• Scott Bailey was the lone board member to abstain from the final vote on the agreement.
  — oregonlive.com, 26 June 2019
• Forty-five members abstained, and the rest were absent.
  — New York Times, 13 June 2018
• Nine voted against, 35 abstained and 21 did not cast a vote.
  — NBC News, 23 Feb. 2018
• Germany and Hungary voted against the tariffs, fearing retaliation, while 12 other members, including Spain and Sweden, abstained.
  — Ryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 9 Oct. 2024

Last Updated: 29 Dec 2024