as in kept (from)
to resist the temptation of
couldn't refrain from ruffling her nephew's neatly combed hair whenever she saw him
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for refrained (from)
avoided
Verb
-
Petty crime, like pickpocketing and phone theft, is more common in Paris and can be easily avoided.—
Eve Chen,
USA Today,
2 Apr. 2026 -
Crown and root rots are easily avoided through proper plant siting to ensure adequate soil drainage.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
1 Apr. 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Refrained (from).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/refrained%20%28from%29. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
