refrain, chorus
(noun) the part of a song where a soloist is joined by a group of singers
abstain, refrain, desist
(verb) choose not to consume; “I abstain from alcohol”
refrain, forbear
(verb) resist doing something; “He refrained from hitting him back”; “she could not forbear weeping”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
refrain (third-person singular simple present refrains, present participle refraining, simple past and past participle refrained)
(transitive, archaic) To hold back, to restrain (someone or something). [from 14th c.]
(reflexive, archaic) To show restraint; to hold oneself back. [from 14th c.]
(transitive, now rare) To repress (a desire, emotion etc.); to check or curb. [from 14th c.]
(intransitive) To stop oneself from some action or interference; to abstain. [from 15th c.]
(transitive, now rare, regional) To abstain from (food or drink). [from 16th c.]
refrain (plural refrains)
The chorus or burden of a song repeated at the end of each verse or stanza.
A much repeated comment, complaint, or saying.
• Ren fair, ferrian
Source: Wiktionary
Re*frain" (r*frn"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Refrained (-frnd"); p. pr. & vb/ n. Refraining.] Etym: [OE. refreinen, OF. refrener, F. refr, fr. L. refrenare; influenced by OF. refraindre to restrain, moderate, fr. LL. refrangere, for L. refringere to break up, break (see Refract). L. refrenare is fr. pref. re- back + frenum bridle; cf. Skr. dh to hold.]
1. To hold back; to restrain; to keep within prescribed bounds; to curb; to govern. His reson refraineth not his foul delight or talent. Chaucer. Refrain thy foot from their path. Prov. i. 15.
2. To abstain from [Obs.] Who, requiring a remedy for his gout, received no other counsel than to refrain cold drink. Sir T. Browne.
Re*frain", v. i.
Definition: To keep one's self from action or interference; to hold aloof; to forbear; to abstain. Refrain from these men, and let them alone. Acts v. 38. They refrained therefrom [eating flesh] some time after. Sir T. Browne.
Syn.
– To hold back; forbear; abstain; withhold.
Re*frain", n. Etym: [F. refrain, fr. OF. refraindre; cf. Pr. refranhs a refrain, refranher to repeat. See Refract,Refrain, v.]
Definition: The burden of a song; a phrase or verse which recurs at the end of each of the separate stanzas or divisions of a poetic composition. We hear the wild refrain. Whittier.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
3 July 2025
(noun) the faculty through which the external world is apprehended; “in the dark he had to depend on touch and on his senses of smell and hearing”
The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.
