Associations to the word «Refrain»

Wiktionary

REFRAIN, verb. (transitive) (archaic) To hold back, to restrain (someone or something). [from 14th c.]
REFRAIN, verb. (reflexive) (archaic) To show restraint; to hold oneself back. [from 14th c.]
REFRAIN, verb. (transitive) (now rare) To repress (a desire, emotion etc.); to check or curb. [from 14th c.]
REFRAIN, verb. (intransitive) To stop oneself from some action or interference; to abstain. [from 15th c.]
REFRAIN, verb. (transitive) (now rare) (regional) To abstain from (food or drink). [from 16th c.]
REFRAIN, noun. The chorus or burden of a song repeated at the end of each verse or stanza.
REFRAIN, noun. A much repeated comment, complaint, or saying.

Dictionary definition

REFRAIN, noun. The part of a song where a soloist is joined by a group of singers.
REFRAIN, verb. Resist doing something; "He refrained from hitting him back"; "she could not forbear weeping".
REFRAIN, verb. Choose not to consume; "I abstain from alcohol".

Wise words

The chief virtue that language can have is clearness, and nothing detracts from it so much as the use of unfamiliar words.
Hippocrates