refrain

Intermediatezipf 3.63

Pronunciation

/rɪˈfreɪn/(rih-FRAYN)

Part of speech

verb / nounformal

Chinese

(v) 克制；避免做某事 (n) 副歌；反复出现的主题

Definition

(v) To stop yourself from doing something. (n) A repeated line in music; a recurring theme.

Word family

  • (no major derivatives for verb sense)

Collocations

  • refrain from smoking
  • refrain from commenting
  • please refrain
  • a common refrain

Examples

  1. 1.Please refrain from using your phone during the lecture. (hold back)
  2. 2."We can't afford it" is a common refrain in budget meetings. (recurring theme)

Synonyms

  • abstain/əbˈsteɪn/— deliberately avoid, especially pleasures
  • desist/dɪˈzɪst/— stop doing, formal/legal
  • resist/rɪˈzɪst/— fight the urge

Etymology

from Latin "refrenare" = to hold back with a bridle — re- (back) + frenum (bridle)