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o hold back; to restrain; to keep within prescribed bounds; to curb; to govern. His reson refraineth not his foul delight or talent. Chaucer. Refrain thy foot from their path. Prov. i. 15.

One who refrains.

Act of refraining. [R.]

To hold one's self aloof; to forbear or refrain voluntarily, and especially from an indulgence of the passions or appetites; -- with from. Not a few abstained from voting. Macaulay. Who abstains from meat that is not gaunt Shak.

Sparing in diet; refraining from a free use of food and strong drinks; temperate; abstinent; sparing in the indulgence of the appetite or passions. Instances of longevity are chiefly among the abstemious. Arbuthnot.

The act or practice of abstaining; voluntary forbearance of any action, especially the refraining from an indulgence of appetite, or from customary gratifications of animal or sensual propensities. Specifically, the practice of abstaining from intoxicating beverages, -- called also total abstinence. The abstinence from…

Refraining from indulgence, especially from the indulgence of appetite; abstemious; continent; temperate. Beau. & Fl.

mes recur through three stanzas of eight or ten lines each, the stanzas concluding with a refrain, and the whole poem with an envoy.

sphemous caricature. "Blasphemous publications." Porteus. Nor from the Holy One of Heaven Refrained his tongue blasphemous. Milton.

The refrain of a song. To bed, to bed, will be the bob of the song. L'Estrange.

rse repeated in a song, or the return of the theme at the end of each stanza; the chorus; refrain. Hence: That which is often repeated or which is dwelt upon; the main topic; as, the burden of a prayer. I would sing my song without a burden. Shak.

The refrain of a famous song of the French Revolution.

The refrain of a famous song of the French Revolution.

To honor by solemn rites, by ceremonies of joy and respect, or by refraining from ordinary business; to observe duly; to keep; as, to celebrate a birthday. Fron even unto shall ye celebrate your Sabbath. Lev. xxiii. 32.

ven lines each, and a concluding stanza. -- each of these six parts ending with a common refrain. -- Gregorian chant. See under Gregorian.

The restraint which a person imposes upon his desires and passions; the act or power of refraining from indulgence of the sexual appetite, esp. from unlawful indulgence; sometimes, moderation in sexual indulgence. If they [the unmarried and widows] have not continency, let them marry. 1 Cor. vii. 9 (Rev. Ver. ). Chasti…

An undertaking, on sufficient consideration, in writing and under seal, to do or to refrain from some act or thing; a contract; a stipulation; also, the document or writing containing the terms of agreement.

To urge to abstain or refrain; to dissuade. [Obs.] The apostles vehemently dehort us from unbelief. Bp. Ward. "Exhort" remains, but dehort, a word whose place neither "dissuade" nor any other exactly supplies, has escaped us. Trench.

the will or desires of; to offend by an act of unkindness or incivility; to displease; to refrain from obliging; to be unaccommodating to. Those . . . who slight and disoblige their friends, shall infallibly come to know the value of them by having none when they shall most need them. South. My plan has given offense t…

ver. It is the complement of the altitude. -- To keep one's distance, to stand aloof; to refrain from familiarity. If a man makes keep my distance, the comfort is he keeps his at the same time. Swift.