refrain (redirected from refraining)

re·frain ¹  (r-frn)

v. re·frained, re·frain·ing, re·frains

v.intr.

To hold oneself back; forbear: refrained from swearing.

v.tr. Archaic

To restrain or hold back; curb.

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[Middle English refreinen, from Old French refrener, to restrain, from Latin refrnre : re-, re- + frnre, to restrain (from frnum, bridle, from frendere, to grind; see ghrendh- in Indo-European roots).]

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re·frainer n.

re·frainment n.

Synonyms: refrain¹, abstain, forbear¹
These verbs mean to keep or prevent oneself from doing or saying something: refrained from commenting; abstained from smoking; can't forbear criticizing them.

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re·frain ²  (r-frn)

n.

1.

a. A phrase, verse, or group of verses repeated at intervals throughout a song or poem, especially at the end of each stanza.

b. Music for the refrain of a poem.

2. A song or melody.

3. A repeated utterance or theme.

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[Middle English refrein, from Old French refrain, alteration of refrait, past participle of refraindre, to break off, repeat, from Vulgar Latin *refrangere, to break off, alteration of Latin refringere; see refract.]

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refrain¹

vb

(intr; usually foll by from) to abstain (from action); forbear

[from Latin refrēnāre to check with a bridle, from re- + frēnum a bridle]

refrainer  n

refrainment  n

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refrain²

n

1. (Music, other) a regularly recurring melody, such as the chorus of a song

2. a much repeated saying or idea

[via Old French, ultimately from Latin refringere to break into pieces]

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	refrain - the part of a song where a soloist is joined by a group of singers chorus music - an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner song, vocal - a short musical composition with words; "a successful musical must have at least three good songs" tra-la, tra-la-la - a set of nonsensical syllables used while humming a refrain
Verb	1.	refrain - resist doing something; "He refrained from hitting him back"; "she could not forbear weeping" forbear leave alone, leave behind, leave - leave unchanged or undisturbed or refrain from taking; "leave it as is"; "leave the young fawn alone"; "leave the flowers that you see in the park behind" let it go - not act; "He thought of a reply but let it go" abstain - refrain from voting spare, save - refrain from harming forbear, hold back - refrain from doing; "she forbore a snicker" help oneself, help - abstain from doing; always used with a negative; "I can't help myself--I have to smoke"; "She could not help watching the sad spectacle" stand by - not act or do anything; "He just stood by when the police beat up the demonstrators" sit out - not participate in (an activity, such as a dance or a sports event); "He sat out the game" act, move - perform an action, or work out or perform (an action); "think before you act"; "We must move quickly"; "The governor should act on the new energy bill"; "The nanny acted quickly by grabbing the toddler and covering him with a wet towel"
	2.	refrain - choose not to consume; "I abstain from alcohol" desist, abstain fast - abstain from eating; "Before the medical exam, you must fast" fast - abstain from certain foods, as for religious or medical reasons; "Catholics sometimes fast during Lent" keep off, avoid - refrain from certain foods or beverages; "I keep off drugs"; "During Ramadan, Muslims avoid tobacco during the day" teetotal - practice teetotalism and abstain from the consumption of alcoholic beverages

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refrain¹

verb stop, avoid, give up, cease, do without, renounce, abstain, eschew, leave off, desist, forbear, kick (informal) She refrained from making any comment.

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refrain²

noun chorus, song, tune, melody a refrain from an old song

Translations

refrain¹ [rɪˈfreɪn] N (Mus) → estribillo m
his constant refrain is → siempre está con la misma canción ...

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refrain² [rɪˈfreɪn] VI to refrain from sth/from doing sth → abstenerse de algo/de hacer algo
I couldn't refrain from laughing → no pude contener la risa

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refrain [rɪˈfreɪn]

vi → s'abstenir
to refrain from doing sth → s'abstenir de faire qch
to refrain from sth → s'abstenir de qch

n

(= often-repeated comment) → refrain m

(= melody) → refrain m

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refrain¹

vi please refrain! → bitte unterlassen Sie das!; he refrained from comment → er enthielt sich eines Kommentars; they refrained from such actions → sie sahen von einem solchen Vorgehen ab; I couldn’t refrain from laughing → ich konnte mir das Lachen nicht verkneifen; kindly refrain from saying that in front of the children → würden Sie das bitte nicht vor den Kindern sagen; please refrain from smoking → bitte nicht rauchen!

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refrain²

n (Mus, Poet, fig) → Refrain m

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refrain¹ [rɪˈfreɪn] n (Mus) → ritornello, refrain m inv

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refrain¹ [rɪˈfreɪn] n (Mus) → ritornello, refrain m inv

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refrain² [rɪˈfreɪn] vi to refrain from sth/from doing sth → astenersi or trattenersi da qc/dal fare qc

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refrain² [rɪˈfreɪn] vi to refrain from sth/from doing sth → astenersi or trattenersi da qc/dal fare qc

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refrain¹

n refrain [rəˈfrein]

a line of words or music repeated regularly in a song, especially at the end of or after each verse; a chorus. refrein لازِمَه припев refrén refræn; omkvæd der Refrain επωδός, ρεφρέν estribillo refrään سرود و شعر را برگرداندن؛ بند ترجیع kertosäe refrain פִּזמוֹן חוֹזֵר राग में दोहराने के शब्द pripjev refrén ulangan viðlag, stef refrain, ritornello 折り返し 후렴 priedainis refrēns; piedziedājums korus refrein refreng, omkved refren refrão refren припев refrén pripev refren refräng ทำนองเพลง nakarat 歌曲的副歌 приспів, рефрен بار بار گایا جانے والا مصرعہ điệp khúc （诗歌或乐曲的）重复迭句，合唱句, 副歌

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refrain²

v refrain [rəˈfrein]

(with from) not to do; to avoid You are asked to refrain from smoking / from (drinking) alcohol. weerhou يَمْتَنِع عن въздържам zdržet se afholde sig fra; undlade unterlassen αποφεύγω abstenerse de hoiduma جلو گیری کردن؛ خودداری کردن pidättäytyä s'abstenir (de) לְהִימָנַע परहेज करना obuzdavati (se), uzdržati se tartózkodik (vmitől) menghindari halda aftur af sér astenersi 控える 참다 susilaikyti atturēties menahan diri zich onthouden avholde seg fra powstrzymać się abster-se a se abţine (de la) воздерживаться zdržať sa opustiti (kaj) suzdržati se avhålla sig, avstå ระงับไว้ sakınmak, kaçınmak 不要做…，避免做… утримуватися پرہیز کرنا kìm chế 戒除, 避免