refrain

Meanings

1. 1verbintransitiveformal

   To hold yourself back from doing something.

   Grammar: Followed by from plus an -ing form: refrain from smoking.

   Patterns

   • refrain from doing something
   • refrain from something

   Please refrain from using your phones during the film.

   She refrained from commenting on the decision.

   He could not refrain from laughing.

2. 2nouncountablemusic

   A line or group of lines repeated in a song or poem, typically after each verse.

   Grammar: Countable: the chorus's refrain.

   Patterns

   • the refrain of something

   Everyone joined in on the refrain.

   The refrain of the song is easy to remember.

   The poem ends each stanza with the same refrain.

3. 3nounsingularfigurative

   A comment or complaint that people keep repeating.

   Grammar: Often with the: the familiar refrain.

   Patterns

   • the usual refrain

   "We can't afford it" was his constant refrain.

   The refrain from the staff was always the same.

   Her refrain was that nobody listened.

Word forms

Common combinations

refrain from commenting

The minister refrained from commenting.

kindly refrain

Visitors are kindly asked to refrain from touching the exhibits.

cannot refrain from

I can't refrain from smiling.

catchy refrain

The song has a catchy refrain.

familiar refrain

It was the familiar refrain of complaint.

Synonyms and how they differ

abstain

Abstain is more formal and often means choosing not to do something such as drink or vote.

hold back

Hold back is informal and can mean restraining emotion.

desist

Desist means to stop doing something already begun.

chorus

Chorus is the repeated part of a song, usually longer than a refrain.

Opposites

Word family

refrained verb

past form of refrain

Commonly confused: refrain or restrain? refrain or abstain?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “refrain”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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