how to pronounce abstain

/əbˈstɛɪn/

audio example by a male speaker

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the above transcription of abstain is a detailed (narrow) transcription according to the rules of the International Phonetic Association; you can find a description of each symbol by clicking the phoneme buttons in the secction below.

abstain is pronounced in two syllables

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1.

2. example pitch curve for pronunciation of abstain

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video examples of abstain pronunciation

An example use of abstain in a speech by a native speaker of american english:

“… similar instructions abstain if possible …”

meanings of abstain

verb:

Hinder; keep back; withhold.
Deliberately refrain from casting one's vote at a meeting where one is present.
Refrain from (something or doing something); keep from doing, especially an indulgence.
Fast (not eat for a period).
Keep or withhold oneself.

abstain frequency in english - C2+ level of CEFR

the word abstain occurs in english on average 1.2 times per one million words; this frequency warrants it to be in the study list for C2+ level of language mastery according to CEFR, the Common European Framework of Reference.

topics abstain can be related to

it is hard to perfectly classify words into specific topics since each word can have many context of its use, but our machine-learning models believe that abstain can be often used in the following areas:

1) communication, information, and media;

2) people, society, and culture;