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Definition of abstention : The act of abstaining; a holding aloof.

Synonyms:

sacrifice, abnegation, absentee vote, surrender, adoption, absolute majority, block vote, aye, New Year's resolution, self-denial, ballot, casting vote, abstinence, absentee ballot, ballot box

Usage examples:

• The favourite device was Heil Gambrinus, and when I saw that I knew that the blue ribbons had nothing to do with total abstention. - "Home Life in Germany", Mrs. Alfred Sidgwick.
• That this was their design was proved by the abstention of the newcomers from firing or stone- slinging. - "The Captain of the Kansas", Louis Tracy.
• Indeed, the hard life of the Rand in the early days, with the bad liqueur and the high veld air, had brought to most of the Partners inner physical troubles of some kind; and their general abstention was not quite voluntary moral purpose. - "The Judgment House", Gilbert Parker.