I talked to my father about it, and we agreed that if Wilfred abstained from drink for a year, I might marry him.
He surrounded the foot of the mountain, and abstained from an assault until the Samaritans were weakened by thirst--many dying from want of water.
It is for this reason that Switzerland, which in former times abstained entirely from sending permanent envoys, has abandoned her former practice and nowadays sends and receives several.
The Catholics in certain portions of the country, it seems, who had hitherto abstained from voting, resolved this time to take part in the contest.
Acting merely as his amanuensis, he has carefully abstained from comments of his own.
Marmaiu returned into his own land with a shattered remnant of his grand army, and devoted himself to peaceful pursuits, or at any rate abstained from any further collision with the Egyptians.
He survived the destruction during a period of seventeen years, and was actively engaged in a number of wars towards the east, the north, and the north-west, but abstained carefully from further contact with either Palestine or Egypt.
Neco outlived his defeat about eight or nine years, during which he nursed his strength, and abstained from all warlike enterprises.
I may sometimes have abstained when I ought to have protested from my great dislike of ineffectual nagging.
They abstained from preparations for war in order to improve the prospect of a peaceable settlement.
This argument would have weighed powerfully with me, had I not observed, that they never abstained from any amusement in the country that came within their reach.
Whatever she was, she was not a mischief-maker; and to prove this to her own satisfaction, she not infrequently abstained from saying something about a lady and gentleman.
In a crisis of keen disappointment, only very noble natures can remain strictly just, yet in arraigning her lover for disloyalty, this sorrowing woman abstained from casting all the blame upon him.
Nora had abstained from asserting in any decided way that she disliked the man, and had always absolutely refused to allow Hugh Stanbury's name to be mixed up with the question.
Mrs. Spalding had perhaps understood this; but had not understood that having just hinted that it was so, she should haveabstained from saying a word more about her dear girl.
He was followed by several others, all of whom complimented the Cavaliere upon his devotion to so good a cause; but abstained from expressing any decided opinion on the expediency of his proposal.
I may have fallen short of the mark, but I have never overshot it: and while I have pointed out what appears to me, to be injustice on the part of others, I hope I have carefully abstained from committing it myself.
Into the whirlpool of tittle-tattle Mrs. Mitchell wisely abstained from plunging.
The weather continued favorable; the guests could not fail to regret the approaching end of their visit, and Mr. Herriott seemed unusually happy, yet he had abstained from being alone with Eglah.
She had ground her little teeth under the infliction of his homily, and it was only by dint of thinking hard of his profits that she abstained from retorting that he might marry all the daughters of the hairdresser and go to Uganda.
A tug-of-war had been arranged for the night following, and by every law of prudence, Hercule should have abstainedfrom the bottle during the day.
He abstained from interfering with me and my studies, until it was reported in our society, that in the sixth print of my series, Gentleman Jones, highly caricatured, was to form one of the principal figures.
I made all the necessary jokes about the strength of the vital principle in Lady Malkinshaw, and the broken condition of my own constitution; but he solemnly abstained from understanding one of them.
Then quoth Queen Budur to Hayat al- Nufus, "O my beloved, that I have neglected thee and abstained from thee is in my own despite.
Then sheabstained from food and drink and gave herself up to excessive tear shedding and lamentation.
The Jesuits had systematically abstained as far as was possible from purely speculative theology.
After this remonstrance had been delivered, the Prince of Orange, Count Horn, and Count Egmont abstained entirely from the sessions of the state council.
The Franks in Palestine, now left to their own resources, ought to have cultivated peace, and more especially to have abstained from positive and direct aggression.
But I was firm to my Determination to do her no harm, and therefore carefully abstained from answering any of her letters.
I had more than once seen him look at the Count uneasily during dinner-time, and had observed that the Count carefully abstained from looking at him in return.
Miss Halcombe abstained from pressing her with any inquiries relating to events in the Asylum--her mind being but too evidently unfit to bear the trial of reverting to them.
I think then that my learned friend had better have abstained from making any assurance which involved his conviction of the prisoner’s innocence.
I think, further—in justice and consideration to you—that he should have abstained from representing to you that the voice of the country would not sanction the verdict which you might give.
I can only say upon that point that I think it would have been better if my learned friend had abstained from giving such an assurance.
The above list will hopefully give you a few useful examples demonstrating the appropriate usage of "abstained" in a variety of sentences. We hope that you will now be able to make sentences using this word.
