ShmoopTube

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[ musical flourish ]

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And here's your Shmoop du jour, brought to you by self restraint,

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the latest trend in martial arts.

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All right, which of these words is closest in meaning to abstain?

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And here are our potential answers.

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All right, so there's a related word, abstinent,

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that's the noun form of abstaining from drugs, alcohol, sex,

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or junk food or really anything fun.

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Uh, let's see which answer best gels with that.

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So take a look at A - blacken,

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which literally means to make darker.

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Okay, well, that doesn't make any sense at all.

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Next up is B - purchase.

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When you're abstaining from something, it usually means that

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you're not taking part, like when you abstain

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from spending money when you're on a budget.

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So purchase definitely is not right.

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Then there's D - learn.

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Now if you learn how unhealthy, say, double-stuffed Oreos are,,

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well, you might abstain from eating them,

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but learning is the action that precedes

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the abstaining, so that doesn't work, either.

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Which leaves us with C - refrain.

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Refrain means to hold back

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from doing something, like when you refrain from

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commenting on your mom's new haircut.

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So the correct answer is C - refrain. And remember,

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sometimes it's good to take a break.

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It might give you a little perspective on things.

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[ whoa ]

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