Abstain and Take

Abstain

Abstain verb - Choose not to consume.
Usage example: I abstain from alcohol

Take is an antonym for abstain.

Take

Take verb - To put up with (something painful or difficult).
Usage example: I can't take anymore of your whining about your former boyfriend

Abstain is an antonym for take in topics: require, consume, contract, carry, accept.

Nearby Words: taking, taken, taker

Common collocations

punishment abstain punishment take punishment

Both words in one sentence

  • Law of Inverse Fertility Keep in mind that she was drinking because they had decided to take a break and therefore she no longer needed to abstain from alcohol.
  • Visual Novel / Nurse Love Addiction I shall abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous, and shall not take or knowingly administer any harmful drug.
  • And every critic who forms a high estimate of the share women may ultimately take in literature, will on principle abstain from any exceptional indulgence toward the productions of literary women.
Cite this Source
Take and Abstain. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/abstain/take
Abstain & Take. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/abstain/take>.
Take or Abstain. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/abstain/take.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "abstain" and "take" have occurred on timeline