intr.v. To hold oneself back; forbear from doing something: refrained from swearing. [Middle English refreinen, from Old French refrener, to restrain, from Latin refrēnāre : re-, re- + frēnāre, to restrain (from frēnum, bridle, from frendere, to grind; see ghrendh- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots).] re·frainer n. re·frainment n. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.