Abstain vs Absent - What's the difference?
abstain | absent |
(transitive, reflexive, obsolete) Keep or withhold oneself.
Refrain from (something); hold one's self aloof; to forbear or keep from doing, especially an indulgence of the passions or appetites.
* Who abstains from meat that is not gaunt? - Shakespeare, Richard II, II-i
(obsolete) Fast.
Deliberately refrain from casting one's vote at a meeting where one is present.
* Not a few abstained from voting. -
(obsolete) Hinder; keep back; withhold.
* Whether he abstain men from marying [sic]. -
(not comparable) Being away from a place; withdrawn from a place; not present; missing.
* 1623 , (William Shakespeare), All’s Well That Ends Well, II-iii
(not comparable) Not existing; lacking.
(sometimes, comparable) Inattentive to what is passing; absent-minded; preoccupied.
* 1746-1747 , Chesterfield, Letters to his Son
(legal) In the absence of; without.
* 1919 , State vs. Britt, Supreme Court of Missouri, Division 2, in The Southwestern Reporter , page 427
* 2011 , David Elstein, letter, London Review of Books , XXXIII.15:
(transitive, now, reflexive) Keep away; stay away; go away.
*
* 1701-1703 , , "Remarks on Italy"
*
(obsolete) Stay away; withdraw.
(rare) Leave.
English heteronyms
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In intransitive obsolete terms the difference between abstain and absent
is that abstain is fast while absent is stay away; withdraw.As verbs the difference between abstain and absent
is that abstain is keep or withhold oneself while absent is keep away; stay away; go away.As an adjective absent is
being away from a place; withdrawn from a place; not present; missing.As a noun absent is
absentee; a person who is away on occasion.As a preposition absent is
in the absence of; without.abstain
English
Verb
(en verb)Usage notes
* (keep or withhold oneself) Followed by the word from' or ' of . * (refrain from something) Followed by the word from .Synonyms
* deny oneself * forbear * forgo * give up * refrain * relinquish * withholdDerived terms
* abstentionReferences
Anagrams
*absent
English
Alternative forms
*Etymology 1
* From (etyl) absent, (etyl) .Adjective
(er)- Expecting absent friends.
- The part was rudimental or absent .
- What is commonly called an absent man is commonly either a very weak or a very affected man.
Antonyms
* presentPreposition
(English prepositions)- If the accused refuse upon demand to pay money or deliver property (absent any excuse or excusing circumstance) which came into his hands as a bailee, such refusal might well constitute some evidence of conversion, with the requisite fraudulent intent required by the statute.
- the Princess Caroline case [...] established that – absent a measurable ‘public interest’ in publication – she was safe from being photographed while out shopping.
Etymology 2
From (etyl) absenter, from .Verb
(en verb)- Go; for thy stay, not free, absents thee more;
- If after due summons any member absents himself, he is to be fined.
- This work was strictly voluntary, but any animal who absented himself from it would have his rations reduced by half.
