refrain
verb/rɪˈfreɪn/
/rɪˈfreɪn/
[intransitive] (formal)Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they refrain | /rɪˈfreɪn/ /rɪˈfreɪn/ |
| he / she / it refrains | /rɪˈfreɪnz/ /rɪˈfreɪnz/ |
| past simple refrained | /rɪˈfreɪnd/ /rɪˈfreɪnd/ |
| past participle refrained | /rɪˈfreɪnd/ /rɪˈfreɪnd/ |
| -ing form refraining | /rɪˈfreɪnɪŋ/ /rɪˈfreɪnɪŋ/ |
- to stop yourself from doing something, especially something that you want to do synonym desist
- refrain (from something) They appealed to the protesters to refrain from violence.
- Both sides should refrain from actions that would make the situation worse.
- refrain from doing something Please refrain from smoking.
- He has refrained from criticizing the government in public.
Extra Examples- He deliberately refrained from expressing his opinion on the matter.
- I refrained from laughing.
- Priscilla could barely refrain from clapping her hands together.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- carefully
- deliberately
- wisely
- …
- from
Word Originverb Middle English (in the sense ‘restrain a thought or feeling’): from Old French refrener, from Latin refrenare, from re- (expressing intensive force) + frenum ‘bridle’.Definitions on the go
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refrain