REFRAIN • FREE-TRANSLATOR.COM • Definition of Refrain

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/rɪfrˈeɪn/ Listen

verb

Refrain v. t. (past & past part. refrained; pres. part. refraining)

To hold back; to restrain; to keep within prescribed bounds; to curb; to govern. "His reason refraineth not his foul delight or talent." "Refrain thy foot from their path."

To abstain from. (Obs.) "Who, requiring a remedy for his gout, received no other counsel than to refrain cold drink."

Refrain v. i. To keep one's self from action or interference; to hold aloof; to forbear; to abstain. "Refrain from these men, and let them alone." "They refrained therefrom (eating flesh) some time after."

Synonyms: To hold back; forbear; abstain; withhold.

noun

Refrain n. The burden of a song; a phrase or verse which recurs at the end of each of the separate stanzas or divisions of a poetic composition. "We hear the wild refrain."

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Etymology of 'Refrain'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Refrain" Quotes from Famous Books

... goes against the grain, Unless one has the patience of Ulysses, Wholly and resolutely to refrain From dwelling on the memory of past blisses; Forbidden fruits allure the strong and sane; Joys loved but lost are what one chiefly misses; This is my best excuse if I deplore "So sad, so sweet, the days that ...

— Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 153, Nov. 28, 1917 • Various

... American prisoners on August 24, at Fort Erie on the Canadian side, opposite Black Rock and Buffalo, wild yells of jubilation rent the air. By nightfall every camp on the Canadian side for the whole forty miles of Niagara River's course echoed to shout and counter shout, and a wild refrain which some poet of the haversack had ...

— Canada: the Empire of the North - Being the Romantic Story of the New Dominion's Growth from Colony to Kingdom • Agnes C. Laut

... has elapsed. To-day is the 29th of August; the 21st of September will, therefore, be the conclusion of the term agreed on, and till that time arrives—and it is the advice of a gentleman which I am about to give you—till then we will refrain from growling and barking like two dogs chained within sight of each other." When he had concluded his speech, Beauchamp bowed coldly to Albert, turned his back upon him, and ...

— The Count of Monte Cristo • Alexandre Dumas, Pere

... monster dwarf, the services had no more effect for good upon him than a strong fortress would be affected by shooting white beans at it. When his favorite business, illicit distilling, was denounced by Very, the dwarf's wrath grew so hot that he could not refrain from muttering under his breath: "I wish I could drown you uns and all yer pious hypercrits ...

— The Kentucky Ranger • Edward T. Curnick

... write a tune, a refrain, an air, whatever you call it, so catchy that people would hum it and sing it on the spot? I want ...

— The Tale of Lal - A Fantasy • Raymond Paton

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