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Abstain vs Avoidance - What's the difference?

abstain | avoidance |

As a verb abstain

is (transitive|reflexive|obsolete) keep or withhold oneself .

As a noun avoidance is

the act of annulling; annulment.

abstain

English

Verb

(en verb)
  • (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]. -

    • 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 * withhold

    Derived terms

    * abstention

    Related terms

    * abstinence

    References

    Anagrams

    *

    avoidance

    English

    Alternative forms

    * avoidaunce (obsolete)

    Noun

    (en-noun)
  • The act of annulling; annulment.
  • The act of becoming vacant, or the state of being vacant; – specifically used for the state of a benefice becoming void by the death, deprivation, or resignation of the incumbent.
  • A dismissing or a quitting; removal; withdrawal.
  • The act of avoiding or shunning; keeping clear of.
  • *
  • *:At her invitation he outlined for her the succeeding chapters with terse military accuracy?; and what she liked best and best understood was avoidance of that false modesty which condescends, turning technicality into pabulum.
  • Any thing that is to be avoided
  • The courts by which anything is carried off.