abstention

/əbˈstɛn.ʃn̩/

//əbˈstɛn.ʃn̩// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"abstention" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“abstention” is uncommon English (frequency #52,126 among 3,931 “A” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#52,126
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act of restraining oneself.

Corpus desk

Index EN-abstention · abstention · English

abstention · rank #52,126 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #52,126
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH accusative

Nearest frequency peer: accusative (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “abstention”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “abstention” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for abstention
PropertyValue
Headwordabstention
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/əbˈstɛn.ʃn̩/
Letters10
Frequency rank#52,126
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “abstention” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).abstentionfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “accusative” (#52,127), “acquaint” (#52,128), “2day” (#52,123). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “abstention” is #52,126. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

abstention is uncommon English at frequency #52,126 among 3,931 “A” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /əbˈstɛn.ʃn̩/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for abstention, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: First attested in 1521. Borrowed from French abstention, from Late Latin abstēntiō from Latin abstinēō (“withhold, to abstain”) The correct English form is abstention, spelled A-B-S-T-E-N-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of restraining oneself.
  2. 2
    The act of abstaining or refraining (from).
  3. 3
    The act of declining to vote on a particular issue.
  4. 4
    Non-participation in the political world; as a country avoiding international affairs.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how abstention appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. abstention from alcohol
  2. abstention from sex

Etymology

First attested in 1521. Borrowed from French abstention, from Late Latin abstēntiō from Latin abstinēō (“withhold, to abstain”)

This word in other languages

abstención(Español)abstention(Français)Enthaltung(Deutsch)abstenção(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "abstention"?
"abstention" is spelled A-B-S-T-E-N-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /əbˈstɛn.ʃn̩/.
What does "abstention" mean?
As a noun, "abstention" means: The act of restraining oneself.
How do you pronounce "abstention"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "abstention" is /əbˈstɛn.ʃn̩/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "abstention"?
First attested in 1521. Borrowed from French abstention, from Late Latin abstēntiō from Latin abstinēō (“withhold, to abstain”) See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "abstention", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

accusative#52,127admonition#52,130antifungal#52,147wintertime#52,105

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list