a voluntary decision not to act; the act of refraining or abstaining the act of withholding one's vote
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025
ab•sten•tion
(ab sten′shən),USA pronunciation n.
ab•sten′tious, adj.
- an act or instance of abstaining.
- Governmentwithholding of a vote.
- Late Latin abstentiōn- (stem of abstentiō), equivalent. to Latin abstent(us), past participle of abstinēre to abstain + -iōn- -ion
- 1515–25
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'abstention' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):