How to Use abstention in a Sentence

abstention

noun

• There were 10 ayes, 6 nays, and 2 abstentions when the vote was taken.
• The House passed the bill by a vote of 88-9 with three abstentions.
  — Mike Cason | [e-mail], al, 26 Jan. 2023
• The bill passed the House by a vote of 72-20 with six abstentions.
  — Howard Koplowitz, AL.com, 6 Mar. 2018
• The school board voted to approve the plan 8 to 3, with one abstention.
  — Hannah Natanson, Washington Post, 23 Sep. 2020
• The vote to finance that project was 12-4, with one abstention.
  — Tom Daykin, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 2 Apr. 2020
• The abstention was a sign of the growing rift between the two allies.
  — Suzanne Nuyen, NPR, 26 Mar. 2024
• The only politician who had cause to cheer the high rate of abstention was Mr Bukele.
  — The Economist, 8 Mar. 2018
• The board deadlocked 4-4 on the issue, with one abstention.
  — Washington Post, 11 Mar. 2022
• Partly because of worries about the virus, the abstention rate, at 58%, was a record high.
  — The Economist, 4 July 2020
• The bill, which needed four votes to pass, received three yeses, two nos and two abstentions.
  — Carolyn Said, SFChronicle.com, 21 June 2018
• The ruling was issued by the full, or en banc, court, in a 10-3 ruling with two abstentions.
  — Fox News, 25 May 2017
• While Macron is favored in the polls, a high abstention rate or a blank protest ballot could help Le Pen.
  — Elaine Ganley and Sylvie Corbet, chicagotribune.com, 1 May 2017
• The vote on the measure to keep fighting for the current alignment failed 11-6, with one abstention.
  — Janet Moore, Star Tribune, 13 Aug. 2020
• The vote was 10 in favor, four opposed and one abstention.
  — Maggie Fox, CNN, 23 Apr. 2021
• The vote was 10 to 4, with one abstention for a conflict of interest.
  — NBC News, 24 Apr. 2021
• The usual goal of abstention is the avoidance of needless conflict with a state court.
  — Kurtis Lee, latimes.com, 15 Dec. 2017
• The plan received 29 yes votes, with 18 opposed and one abstention.
  — Jim Paulsen, Star Tribune, 11 May 2021
• The 10-member board voted five votes to four, with one abstention, in favor of bringing the soccer team to the West End.
  — Cameron Knight, Cincinnati.com, 20 Mar. 2018
• The 17-0 vote, with one abstention, will now go to the FDA, which is expected to make a final ruling in the coming days.
  — NBC News, 26 Oct. 2021
• Syria and Belarus were among the seven states to vote against the motion; there were 32 abstentions.
  — Patrick Smith, NBC News, 24 Feb. 2023
• The ordinance failed by a vote of six in favor and seven against, with one abstention.
  — Tom Sissom, Arkansas Online, 16 June 2023
• The vote on the six-member body, which is split evenly by party, was four in favor and one against, with one abstention.
  — Isaac Stanley-Becker, Anchorage Daily News, 11 Aug. 2022
• The bill previously passed the Senate by a vote of 27-0 with no abstentions.
  — Howard Koplowitz, AL.com, 7 Mar. 2018
• The motion received 14 votes in favor and one abstention by Russia — the first time the council has endorsed such a plan to end the war.
  — Alexandra Banner, CNN, 11 June 2024
• After the issue was put to a vote, the result was 8 countries in favor, 4 against and 3 abstentions.
  — Fox News, 19 Mar. 2018
• The May 23 vote, which also called upon the mayor to resign, passed 4-0 with one abstention.
  — Dave Lieber, Dallas News, 7 June 2023
• The council voted in favor of the motion, 7-0 with one abstention.
  — Steve Smith, Hartford Courant, 8 Feb. 2023
• Aldermen vote 12-2 in favor of the ban, with one abstention.
  — Ashley Luthern, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 27 Mar. 2018
• The Biden administration wisely took a more nuanced approach, soberly noting the abstentions but choosing not to overreact.
  — Bruce Jones, Foreign Affairs, 15 June 2022
• After reconvening in a second location that was fortified by dozens of police officers in riot gear, the reform passed, with 86 votes in favor, 41 against and zero abstentions.
  — Tara John, CNN, 11 Sep. 2024

Last Updated: 7 Dec 2024