abstain from drinking

/əbˈsteɪn frəm ˈdrɪŋkɪŋ/

verb phrase

  1. To deliberately avoid drinking alcohol.

    B2

    abstain from + noun or gerundformal

    • "She abstains from drinking for health reasons."B1
    • "The doctor advised him to abstain from drinking while taking the medication."B2
    • "He chose to abstain from drinking entirely after years of alcohol dependence."C1

Common mistakes

  • abstain to drink→abstain from drinking

    Use from followed by a noun or an -ing form, not to plus the base verb.

Collocations

abstain from alcoholabstain from drinkingcompletely abstain from drinking

Word family

abstainabstentionabstinent