How to Use abstain in a Sentence

abstain

verb
  • Ten members voted for the proposal, six members voted against it, and two abstained.
  • Hegseth promised to abstain if he was confirmed.
    — Steve Chapman, Chicago Tribune, 1 Apr. 2026
  • Waters, who serves on the board, abstained from the vote.
    — Christopher Harris, CBS News, 11 Dec. 2025
  • Medvedev agreed to abstain and, a few hours later, the vote passed.
    — Kim Ghattas, The Atlantic, 6 Mar. 2022
  • Trustee Michael Ryan abstained from the vote.
    — Silas Allen, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Oct. 2025
  • Barger abstained from both votes.
    — Jason Henry, Daily News, 4 Mar. 2026
  • The most effective way to avoid any risks of cannabis use is to abstain from use.
    — James Hamblin, The Atlantic, 18 Aug. 2017
  • Many were there to break their holy fast after abstaining from food and drink since dawn.
    — Lauren Costantino, Miami Herald, 28 Feb. 2026
  • Some of those franchises abstained last year, as well.
    — Matt Moret, New York Times, 19 June 2026
  • But who will manage to abstain from hooking up, and who will break the rules in record time?
    — Amy MacKelden, ELLE, 8 Dec. 2022
  • Li got 2,936 votes, with three votes cast against him and eight abstained.
    — Laura He, CNN, 10 Mar. 2023
  • Nine members voted against it, while two abstained.
    — Reuters, CNN Money, 19 Sep. 2025
  • Two major economies stood out in abstaining.
    — Nicholas Gordon, Fortune, 14 Dec. 2025
  • As for now, the designer mama hopes that the haters will abstain from her page.
    — Kelly Corbett, House Beautiful, 16 Dec. 2020
  • If the chief justice abstained from breaking a tie, the motion would fail.
    — Nicholas Fandos, New York Times, 30 Jan. 2020
  • The judge ordered Wright to abstain from any substance abuse.
    — Jason Meisner, chicagotribune.com, 9 Dec. 2020
  • At least four coalition members would need to vote no or abstain to derail the court changes.
    — Shira Rubin, Washington Post, 27 Mar. 2023
  • Three council members voted yes for the sign, and four abstained.
    — Charmaine Patterson, Peoplemag, 23 May 2024
  • Again, good reasons to cut back or abstain (and in time maybe explore the root of those feelings).
    — Alan Dybner, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 June 2023
  • Many of these voters will abstain in the May 7 second round, polls show.
    — Helene Fouquet, Bloomberg.com, 28 Apr. 2017
  • Of the 20 clubs, 14 agreed to the change, five voted against and one abstained.
    — The Associated Press, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2017
  • The vote was 4-0 with Blain abstaining.
    — Julie Gallant, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Aug. 2025
  • The vote was 4-0 with Blain abstaining.
    — Julie Gallant, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Aug. 2025
  • And as a growing body of research lays out, there are plenty of reasons to abstain.
    — Laura Regensdorf, Vogue, 16 June 2018
  • This is why fasting during the month goes beyond abstaining from food and drink.
    — Irfan Sarwar, Chicago Tribune, 17 Feb. 2026
  • Smart front offices did not see good value at the top of the pitching market, so many abstained.
    — Childs Walker, Baltimore Sun, 2 Aug. 2024
  • Guyana and South Korea abstained.
    — Brie Stimson, FOXNews.com, 27 Sep. 2025
  • Church members are expected to abstain from meat.
    — Jalen Williams, Freep.com, 2 Feb. 2026
  • The vote took place while Page was out of town at a conference, thus forcing him to abstain.
    — Lev Akabas, Sportico.com, 24 Nov. 2025
  • For that reason, the mayor abstained in voting.
    — Carolyn Stein, Chicago Tribune, 21 Jan. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'abstain.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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