She grabbed a little of everything from the plate piled with olives, cherries, and other nibbles, but she had to abstain from the offerings on the wine table. Choosing to abstain, or refrain, from drinking alcohol made it safe for her to drive friends home.
Roots of the word abstain are from the 14th-century French, "to withhold oneself," and the word often refers to people who abstain or keep themselves from drinking liquor. To abstain means to refrain from doing something or to restrain oneself from indulging in something. You can abstain from donuts or soda or any vice you want to give up. Abstain also means to withhold a vote, and sometimes a difficult decision is held up when government representatives abstain from voting one way or another.
