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Retract vs Abstain - What's the difference?

retract | abstain |

In lang=en terms the difference between retract and abstain

is that retract is to take back or withdraw something one has said while abstain is deliberately refrain from casting one's vote at a meeting where one is present .

As verbs the difference between retract and abstain

is that retract is to pull back inside while abstain is (transitive|reflexive|obsolete) keep or withhold oneself
.

retract

English

Verb

(en verb)
  • To pull back inside.
  • An airplane retracts its wheels for flight.
  • (ambitransitive) To draw back; to draw up.
  • Muscles retract after amputation.
    A cat can retract its claws.
  • To take back or withdraw something one has said.
  • I retract all the accusations I made about the senator and sincerely hope he won't sue me.
  • * Bishop Stillingfleet
  • I would as freely have retracted this charge of idolatry as I ever made it.
  • * Granville
  • She will, and she will not; she grants, denies, / Consents, retracts , advances, and then flies.
  • To take back, as a grant or favour previously bestowed; to revoke.
  • (Woodward)

    Synonyms

    * take back * withcall * withdraw

    See also

    * unsay * unspeak

    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

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