refrain means to hold back, to restrain (someone or something). It carries an Arena rating of 1643, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, refrain ranks #2,308 of 14,431 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #2,317 of 14,444 for Most Exacting Words, #2,382 of 14,414 for Most Elegant Words, #3,622 of 14,297 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words.
refrain is pronounced /ɹɪˈfɹeɪn/.
Why “refrain” is a great word
To hold oneself back from doing something, especially by an effort of self-control. From Middle English refreynen, from Anglo-Norman refrener, from Latin refrēnāre ("to bridle, curb"), from re- ("back") + frēnāre ("to restrain with a bridle"), from frēnum ("bridle"). Unlike "abstain," which implies a deliberate, long-term renunciation, or "restrain," which denotes the physical holding of another, to refrain is the internal, momentary check—the bitten tongue in a heated argument, the hand withdrawn from the second biscuit, the breath held before a cruel remark is uttered. It is the visible breath held in winter air, a private, muscular act of will that leaves no trace except the silence where something else might have been.
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English refreynen, from Anglo-Norman refrener, Old French refrener, from Latin refrēnāre, from re- + frēnāre, from frēnum.
verb
- To hold back, to restrain (someone or something).“Refrain thy foot from their path.”
- To show restraint; to hold oneself back.“And nowe I saye unto you: refrayne youreselves from these men, and let them alone [...].”
- To repress (a desire, emotion etc.); to check or curb.
- To stop oneself from some action or interference; to abstain; to eschew“Refrain from these men, and let them alone.”
- To abstain from (food or drink).“Who, requiring a remedy for his gout, received no other counsel than to refrain cold drink.”
noun
- The chorus or burden of a song repeated at the end of each verse or stanza.“For perhaps as much as thirty seconds they kept it up. It was a refrain that was often heard in moments of overwhelming emotion. Partly it was a sort of hymn to the wisdom and majesty of Big Brother, but still more it was an act of self-hypnosis, a deliberate drowning of consciousness by means of rhythmic noise.”
- A much repeated comment, complaint, or saying.
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