refrain
/ri'frein/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Verb:
- To stop oneself from doing something; to hold back or avoid an action or impulse.
- To choose not to do or have something, often as an act of self-control or discipline.
Noun:
- A repeated line or group of lines in a song or poem, typically at the end of each verse; a chorus.
Examples of Usage
Verb:
- Please refrain from talking during the lecture.
- He refrained from making any comment on the controversial issue.
- For health reasons, she refrains from eating sugar.
Noun:
- The song's refrain is so catchy that everyone sings along.
- The poet uses the same refrain at the close of every stanza to emphasize the theme.
Advanced Usage
- "To refrain from" + gerund (verb-ing): This is the most common grammatical structure for the verb.
- The agreement requires both parties to refrain from hostile actions.
- Legal/Formal Context: Often used in official rules, notices, or polite requests.
- Passengers are kindly requested to refrain from smoking.
Variants and Related Words
- Refrainment (n): (Rare) The act of refraining.
- Forbear (v): A close synonym meaning to refrain or hold back, often from something difficult.
- She forbore to criticize him, though she was very disappointed.
Synonyms
- Verb: Abstain, desist, withhold, avoid, forbear.
- Noun: Chorus, burden, repeat, recurrent phrase.
Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)
Note: "Refrain" itself is not commonly used in phrasal verb constructions. Its meaning is typically expressed with the preposition "from."
Related Idioms
- "To refrain one's tongue": (Archaic/Literary) To hold back from speaking.
- In the tense meeting, he had to refrain his tongue to avoid an argument.
Noun
- the part of a song where a soloist is joined by a group of singers
Verb
- choose not to consume
- I abstain from alcohol
- resist doing something
- He refrained from hitting him back
- she could not forbear weeping