Refrain
[rɪ'freɪn] or [rɪ'fren]
Definition
(noun.) the part of a song where a soloist is joined by a group of singers.
(verb.) resist doing something; 'He refrained from hitting him back'; 'she could not forbear weeping'.
Inputed by Julio--From WordNet
Definition
(v. t.) To hold back; to restrain; to keep within prescribed bounds; to curb; to govern.
(v. t.) To abstain from
(v. i.) To keep one's self from action or interference; to hold aloof; to forbear; to abstain.
(v.) The burden of a song; a phrase or verse which recurs at the end of each of the separate stanzas or divisions of a poetic composition.
Checked by Evita
Synonyms and Synonymous
v. a. Restrain, withhold, keep back.
v. n. Abstain, forbear, hold one's self back, deny one's self, stay one's hand, keep one's self from indulgence.
n. Burden (of a song).
Typist: Steven
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Forbear, hold, abstain, keep, restrain, withhold, desist_from
ANT:Indulge, venture, continue, persist
Checked by Claudia
Definition
v.t. to curb: to restrain.—v.i. to keep from action: to forbear.—ns. Refrain′er; Refrain′ment.
n. a burden or chorus recurring at the end of each division of a poem: the musical form to which the burden of a song is set: an after-taste or other sense impression.
Typist: Susan
Examples
- Fanny, not able to refrain entirely from observing them, had seen enough to be tolerably satisfied. Jane Austen. Mansfield Park.
- Fanny acknowledged her wishes and doubts on this point: she did not know how either to wear the cross, or to refrain from wearing it. Jane Austen. Mansfield Park.
- As I did the other day, said Elizabeth with a conscious smile: very true, it will be wise in me to refrain from _that_. Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice.
- They had the wisdom to refrain from any overt meddling with public ideas. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- Who that is not a miserable caitiff will refrain from smiling at the praises of justice? Plato. The Republic.
- But if they refrain therefrom, clothe them and feed them suitably. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- During her confinement, many arguments had been urged to persuade my mother to refrain from attending upon her. Mary Shelley. Frankenstein_Or_The Modern Prometheus.
- While I thought you could not help yourself, as it were, I refrained from saying it. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
- Next day you had my secret at your mercy, but you nobly refrained from pursuing your advantage. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
- More than that it did not do, for she refrained even from ascending the bank and looking over. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
- You would have it that such was the case, and I refrained from contradiction. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- Even had you felt careless about your own affliction, you might have refrained from singing out of sheer pity for mine. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
- I refrained from alarming the house, and telling everybody what had happened--as I ought to have done. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- But my heart sunk within me as with bitter sickness, and I refrained. Mary Shelley. Frankenstein_Or_The Modern Prometheus.
- Under favour, sir, replied the yeoman, I have another reason for refraining to shoot, besides the fearing discomfiture and disgrace. Walter Scott. Ivanhoe.
- I supposed he regarded my silence as eccentricbut he was indulgent in refraining from censure. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- No precaution could have been more obvious than our refraining from communication with him that day; yet this again increased my restlessness. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
- As he fights he wins approval and advancement; as he refrains, he is disliked, ridiculed, shut out from favorable recognition. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
Typist: Perry