Meaning & Definition of Refrain in English

Detailed Definitions

• Definition: to abstain from doing something

  Example Sentence: He decided to refrain from drinking alcohol at the party.

• Definition: a repeated line or number of lines in a poem or song, especially at the end of each stanza

  Example Sentence: The refrain of the song was catchy and easy to remember.

Etymology

Origin: Middle English refrainen, from Old French refrener, from Latin refrænāre, from re- + frēnāre to restrain.

Synonyms

Common Phrases and Expressions

• refrain from: to avoid doing something
• refrain and enjoy: to hold back from action or speech and derive pleasure from contemplation
• as the refrain goes: used to introduce a repeated phrase or idea

Translations

• Spanish: abstenerse

• French: s'abstenir

• German: sich enthalten

• Russian: воздерживаться

Related Words

• abstain: to choose not to do something

• hold back: to restrain from acting or speaking

• desist: to stop doing something that one has been doing

Slang Meanings of refrain

• Meaning: hold your horses

  Example Sentence: If you want to go out tonight, just hold your horses and finish your homework first.

• Meaning: bite your tongue

  Example Sentence: I wanted to tell him off, but I decided to bite my tongue instead.