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Definition of abstain : 1. To hinder; to withhold.
2. To hold one's self aloof; to forbear or refrain voluntarily, and especially from an indulgence of the passions or appetites; - with from.

Synonyms:

deny oneself, refrain, conclude, let alone, restrain oneself, fast, pause, lay off, abjure, renounce, withhold oneself from, keep aloof from, give over, let well enough alone, bring to an end, quit, hold aloof from, come to an end, do nothing, pass up, leave off, keep from, teetotal, exercise self-restraint, end, turn aside from, spare, have no hand in, have nothing to do with, terminate, eschew, dispense with, hold off, withhold, cease, take the pledge, refuse, turn over a new leaf, get on the water wagon, forgo, restraint, discontinue, go without, stop, desist, finish, forbear, keep, swear off, starve oneself, hold back, intermit, not touch, do without

avoid, shrink, dodge, shun, skip, avert, bypass, evade, shirk, sidestep, escape, duck, recoil, circumvent, decline, elude

Usage examples:

• No harm is done if there are such common properties as language assumes, since we do not deny them, but merely abstain from asserting them. - "Our Knowledge of the External World as a Field for Scientific Method in Philosophy", Bertrand Russell.
• The first class envisages a general treaty, by which the signatory states shall undertake to submit all differences between them to processes of arbitration or conciliation conducted by impartial courts or commissions, and to abstain from all acts of hostility during the progress of such investigation. - "The Unity of Civilization", Various.
• That being so, and as she is at present under my escort, I must ask you to abstain from addressing her. - "When London Burned", G. A. Henty.