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Prohibit vs Abstain - What's the difference?

prohibit | abstain |

As verbs the difference between prohibit and abstain

is that prohibit is to forbid, disallow, or proscribe officially; to make illegal or illicit while abstain is keep or withhold oneself.

prohibit

English

Verb

(en verb)
  • To forbid, disallow, or proscribe officially; to make illegal or illicit.
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-07, author= Ed Pilkington
  • , volume=188, issue=26, page=6, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= ‘Killer robots’ should be banned in advance, UN told , passage=In his submission to the UN, [Christof] Heyns points to the experience of drones. Unmanned aerial vehicles were intended initially only for surveillance, and their use for offensive purposes was prohibited , yet once strategists realised their perceived advantages as a means of carrying out targeted killings, all objections were swept out of the way.}}

    Synonyms

    * forbid * disallow * ban * See also

    Antonyms

    * allow * authorize

    See also

    * interdict * debar * prevent * hinder

    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

    References

    Anagrams

    *