abstention
/æbˈstɛn.ʃn̩/noun
abstention is spelled A-B-S-T-E-N-T-I-O-N: 10 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 52,337th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, abstention means “The act of abstaining or refraining (from)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of abstention is abstentions.
How many letters and syllables are in abstention?
| Letters | 10: A-B-S-T-E-N-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 52,337th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is abstention?
Abstention appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 52,337th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce abstention?
- UK /əbˈstɛn.ʃn̩/
- US /æbˈstɛn.ʃn̩/
- US /əbˈstɛn.ʃn̩/
Abstention has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-abstention.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with abstention?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as abstention from its last stressed vowel (/ɛnʃn/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of abstention
- abstentions plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does abstention mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
obsoleteThe act of restraining oneself.
- 2
The act of abstaining or refraining (from).
abstention from alcohol
- 3
The act of declining to vote on a particular issue.
There were five abstentions in the vote.
- 4
Non-participation in the political world; as a country avoiding international affairs.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Abstention in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense the act of abstaining:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | abstention |
| German | Enthaltung, Abstandnehmen |
| Portuguese | abstenção |
| Spanish | abstención |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does abstention come from?
First attested in 1521. Borrowed from French abstention, from Late Latin abstēntiō from Latin abstinēō (“withhold, to abstain”)
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).