What's the difference between abstain and deny?

Abstain


Definition:

  • (v. i.) To hold one's self aloof; to forbear or refrain voluntarily, and especially from an indulgence of the passions or appetites; -- with from.
  • (v. t.) To hinder; to withhold.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) Also critical to Mr Smith's victory was the decision over lunch of the MSF technical union's delegation to abstain on the rule changes.
  • (2) Abstainer rates in the total population controlled for treatment decreased with increasing WPY (P less than 0.005).
  • (3) The adjusted odds ratio of having one or more hospitalization for current drinkers relative to life-long abstainers in females was 0.67 (95 per cent confidence interval 0.57-0.79) and in males was 0.74 (0.57-0.96).
  • (4) Britain and France formally announced this week they would abstain, along with Portugal and Bosnia.
  • (5) Although close to 50% of this sample were abstainers, 11% of the drinkers were found to be heavy drinkers, averaging more than two drinks daily, while 18% were high-maximum drinkers, consuming at least five drinks on an occasion prior to pregnancy.
  • (6) Compared to abstainers, the heaviest drinkers had the highest systolic (JM, p = 0.001; WM, p less than 0.01) and diastolic (JM, p less than 0.002; WM, p less than 0.05) blood pressures.
  • (7) The Labour leadership is understood to be pressing for its MPs to abstain on the grounds that the party’s policy is under review and the real vote on Trident will come in the decisive “main gate” decision on renewal next year.
  • (8) But the prime minister failed to win the support of more than half of his 303 MPs after 136 Tories rejected the measure and around 40 Tory MPs either did not vote or actively abstained.
  • (9) 36% of the group had abstained from further drug taking, 27% were taking them periodically, 32% had to be treated again and 5% had deteriorated (trend towards invalidism).
  • (10) Their occurrence rules out any organic involvement almost with certainty, and allows abstaining from additional examinations, or keeping them within minimum limits.
  • (11) They all abstain from social media for fear of getting embroiled in some brouhaha.
  • (12) Heidi Allen, the Conservative MP for South Cambridgeshire, abstained in last week’s vote but said she and others would defy the party whip if concessions were not offered.
  • (13) Fourteen months later, 41 subjects (41%) were classified as resumers; 62 (59%) were abstainers.
  • (14) This finding indicates that many young people exaggerate the risk of losing status among their peers because they abstain from drinking.
  • (15) At their explosive 80-minute meeting, the union's delegates - who hold 4.5 per cent of the vote - voted by 19-17 to abstain because the OMOV rule change included a further measure promoting more women MPs, one of the union's longstanding causes.
  • (16) All subjects had been instructed to abstain from smoking for at least 10 h before and during the examination.
  • (17) The CDC and other health agencies have been operating for months on the assumption that Zika causes brain defects, and they have been warning pregnant women to use mosquito repellent, avoid travel to Zika-stricken regions and either abstain from sex or rely on condoms.
  • (18) On same-sex marriage, Leadsom said she supported partnerships between gay couples but had reservations about the legislation that led her to abstain during the parliamentary vote.
  • (19) The salivary cotinine concentration after 1 week in 60 abstainers was 183 ng.ml-1.
  • (20) Never smoking abstainers die at about the same rate as never smoking moderate drinkers.

Deny


Definition:

  • (v. t.) To declare not to be true; to gainsay; to contradict; -- opposed to affirm, allow, or admit.
  • (v. t.) To refuse (to do something or to accept something); to reject; to decline; to renounce.
  • (v. t.) To refuse to grant; to withhold; to refuse to gratify or yield to; as, to deny a request.
  • (v. t.) To disclaim connection with, responsibility for, and the like; to refuse to acknowledge; to disown; to abjure; to disavow.
  • (v. i.) To answer in /// negative; to declare an assertion not to be true.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) He still denied it and said he was giving the girl a lift.
  • (2) The highest rate of discontinuation occurred when method choice was denied in the presence of husband-wife agreement on method choice, and the lowest rate occurred when method choice was granted in the presence of such concurrence.
  • (3) It was with unanimous consent.” He denied that Trump’s tweets had played a part, saying: “No, no, no.
  • (4) The White House denied there had been an agreement, but said it was open in principle to such negotations.
  • (5) Keep it in the ground campaign Though they draw on completely different archives, leaked documents, and interviews with ex-employees, they reach the same damning conclusion: Exxon knew all that there was to know about climate change decades ago, and instead of alerting the rest of us denied the science and obstructed the politics of global warming.
  • (6) Greek officials categorically denied the report with many describing it as a "joke".
  • (7) In practice they are so elastic that they have been used to deny pasta to besieged Gazans.
  • (8) It felt like my very existence was being denied,” said Hahn Chae-yoon, executive director of Beyond the Rainbow Foundation.
  • (9) The government has blamed a clumsily worded press release for the furore, denying there would be random checks of the public.
  • (10) Crushing their dream of denying healthcare to millions of people will put them on that road to despair.
  • (11) Both of these bills include restrictions on moving terrorists into our country.” The White House quickly confirmed the president would have to sign the legislation but denied this meant that its upcoming plan for closing Guantánamo was, in the words of one reporter, “dead on arrival”.
  • (12) However ITV deny that any approach or offer, formal or informal, has been made.
  • (13) To organise society as an individualistic war of one against another was barbaric, while the other models, slavishly following the rules of one religion or one supreme leader, denied freedom.
  • (14) He denied that the probation service budget, which has been protected so far from 23% cuts, would be a particular target, but said it was not yet making the same level of savings as was being required of the police.
  • (15) Nepalese workers building stadiums for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar have been denied leave to attend funerals or visit relatives following the earthquakes in the Himalayan country that have killed more than 8,000 people, its government has revealed.
  • (16) Authorities in most cities – from Chita in Siberia to Makhachkala in Dagestan – denied permission for the rallies.
  • (17) Planned Parenthood denies the accusations, saying it donates fetal tissue to medical research companies at no cost.
  • (18) However, a spokesperson for the Department for Communities and Local Government denied any reports of a rift with the Treasury.
  • (19) There were numerous reports of looting and tampering with evidence, although rebel authorities angrily denied them.
  • (20) It could bring down the prime minister, though he denies it.