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• v  refrain from voting
• v  choose not to consume
  I abstain from alcohol

• They do not make love during the first two years of marriage, and they abstain completely for four to six years after the birth of a child.
• This last clause, which carefully does not bind Russia to abstain from spreading Communist propaganda in Estonia, seemed to mean that the country will be spared for a time such outright Bolshevization as the Russians are putting through in their part of Poland.
• The specialists decided that there was at least no immediate necessity of prostatectomy, relieved him by catheterization, advised him to abstain from many papal obligations.

• refrain
• desist

• consume

News & Articles

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• Is your designated driver drunk?
  Should designated drivers abstain from booze? If you said, yes, you might be shocked to know that 35% of so-called DDs drank on duty, while a portion of them were legally drunk when they hit the road, according to a new study.        
  June 12, 2013 - Baltimore Sun
• Designated Drivers Don’t Always Abstain
  You’re going out on the town for the night. Everyone wants to have a good time, likely drink, and doesn’t want have to worry about getting home, thus a designated driver is elected – the person who is supposed to remain sober for the night and be responsible for getting everyone home safe and sound. [...] Designated Drivers Don’t Always Abstain is a post from: The Inquisitr
  June 10, 2013 - The Inquisitr
• Russian Orthodox Church urges monks to abstain from Internet use
  MOSCOW, June 8 (UPI) -- The head of the Russian Orthodox Church has urged monks to abstain from using the Internet to protect themselves from online temptations.
  June 8, 2013 - UPI

Quotes

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• Richard Lugar in Khaleej Times
  This pact is a lasting incentive for India to abstain from further nuclear weapons tests and to cooperate closely with the United States in stopping proliferation,said Richard Lugar, chairman of the US Senate foreign relations committee.
• Jean-Marie Le Pen in International Herald Tribune
  I invite voters who trusted me not to cast ballots for Madame Royal or Mr. Sarkozy,Le Pen told at least 5,000 supporters in front of Paris' gilded Opera. "I invite them expressly to abstain massively, reserving themselves for the first...
• Vijay Mallya in CricInfo.com
  My biggest mistake was to abstain from the selection of the team. Though I watch a lot cricket whenever possible, I am no cricket expert at the end of the day,Mallya told the Economic Times. "I had a separate list of players that I wanted....