1. past tense of refrain; held oneself back from doing something

Examples

• She refrained from commenting on the controversial topic.
• The students refrained from talking during the exam.
• He refrained from eating dessert while on his diet.
• The politician refrained from making any promises.
• They refrained from using their phones during the meeting.
• I refrained from interrupting the speaker.
• The audience refrained from applauding until the end.