Meaning & use
please refrain
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Meaning
phrasefixed phraseformal
used to politely ask someone not to do something, especially in official notices or instructions
Grammar: Followed by 'from' + a noun or an -ing form: please refrain from smoking. It is not followed by 'to' + verb.
Patterns
- please refrain from something
- please refrain from doing something
Please refrain from taking photographs inside the museum.
Passengers are asked to please refrain from speaking to the driver while the bus is moving.
Please refrain from using your phone during the performance.
Common combinations
- please refrain from smoking
- A sign near the entrance says, 'Please refrain from smoking in this area.'
- please refrain from using
- Please refrain from using the elevator during the fire drill.
- please refrain from touching
- Please refrain from touching the paintings.
- kindly refrain from
- Guests are kindly asked to refrain from making loud noise after midnight.
Synonyms and how they differ
- please don't
- Much more direct and less formal; it can sound blunt in official writing, where 'please refrain from' is preferred.
- please avoid
- Similar politeness, but it suggests keeping away from something rather than actively stopping an action.
Word family
Commonly confused: please refrain or restrain?
please refrain vs restrain
Restrain means to stop someone or something from moving or acting, often physically. Refrain is something you do yourself: you refrain from an action.
Practice
Choose the correct completion: 'Please refrain ___ making personal calls at your desk.'
Choose one answer.
'Refrain' is followed by 'from' + -ing form, so 'from making' is correct. 'To' is wrong because 'refrain' is never followed by an infinitive, even though many verbs of request take 'to'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “please refrain”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.