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Spell Bee Word: Abstain

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What does abstain mean?

Word: Abstain

Part of Speech: Verb

Meaning: Abstain means to choose not to do something, such as eating a certain food or voting in an election.

Synonyms: avoid, hold back

Antonyms: indulge, participate

How do you spell abstain?

Syllables: ab - stain

Tricky part: There is only one s, even though abs and stain seem to share it.

Watch out for: abstane, abstein, absstain

Memory tip: Abstain ends with stain. If you abstain from mango juice at the party, you also avoid a stain on your shirt.

Abstain in a sentence

Example 1: During exam week my cousin abstains from watching television.

Example 2: Three members abstained when the society voted on the new gate.

Example 3: The doctor told Grandpa to abstain from sweets for a month.

Fun Fact

Abstain comes from Latin abstinere, to hold back, made of abs (away) and tenere (to hold). Retain and contain come from the same tenere.

Practise the CREST Way

Word Connection

Choose the synonym of the word:

abstain

a) attend
b) refrain
c) remain
d) persist

Show answer

b) refrain. To refrain is to hold yourself back, which is what abstaining means.

Word Cookie

Insert the correct letter to form a word:

a_stain

a) p
b) b
c) s
d) d

Show answer

b) b. The b is easy to mishear as p before the s, but the word starts a-b, like absent.

Spell-o-Spell

Choose the correctly spelt word:

a) pursuade
b) goverment
c) tommorow
d) abstain

Show answer

d) abstain. Persuade starts with per, government keeps the n of govern, and tomorrow has one m and a double r.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. A voter who abstains ____.

a) votes for both sides
b) votes by post
c) does not vote at all
d) counts all the votes

Show answer

c) does not vote at all

2. Which noun goes with abstain?

a) abstinance
b) abstaination
c) abstainment
d) abstention

Show answer

d) abstention

Associated Words

Words that end in -tain: maintain, captain, uncertain, entertain, chieftain

Related words on the Spell Bee lists: avoid, indulge

More words from this list

auditor, commend, disassemble, floral, interim, nuisance, recyclable, tectonic

Next steps

How to participate in CREST International Spell Bee

The CREST International Spell Bee (CSB) is conducted in two editions – CREST International Spell Bee - Summer (CSB) and CREST International Spell Bee - Winter (CSBW) – giving students across the globe an opportunity to showcase and enhance their spelling proficiency. Designed for young learners from Senior KG to Class 8, the competition focuses on word-building, pronunciation, and vocabulary enrichment, helping students develop strong linguistic skills.

Steps to Participate:

Step 1: Visit the registration page and complete the registration with your desired subject.

Step 2: After Registration done, do login at www.crestolympiads.com/login.

Step 3: After login, go to dashboard and click on Book slot/Take Exam

Step 4: Schedule your exam date and preferred time.

Step 5: Log in with your credentials on the exam day at the scheduled time and take the exam.

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