refrain
verb · noun
Simple meaning
To stop oneself from some action or interference.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
rihfraynSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɹɪfˈɹeɪn
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
intransitivewith preposition "from"
To stop oneself from some action or interference; to abstain; to eschew
noun
The chorus or burden of a song repeated at the end of each verse or stanza.
by extension
A much repeated comment, complaint, or saying.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The chorus or burden of a song repeated at the end of each verse or stanza.
Used this way, refrain is a reasonably familiar word with a faintly unfavourable edge. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Slightly negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Critical or judgemental
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use refrain
- “He refrained from hitting him back.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
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More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.