Refrain

1. (v. t.) To hold back; to restrain; to keep within prescribed bounds; to curb; to govern.

2. (v. t.) To abstain from

3. (v. i.) To keep one's self from action or interference; to hold aloof; to forbear; to abstain.

4. (n.) The burden of a song; a phrase or verse which recurs at the end of each of the separate stanzas or divisions of a poetic composition.

Thesaurus Entries

PS, Parthian shot, Spenserian stanza, abandon, abort, abstain, abstain from, addendum, afterthought, air, anacrusis, antistrophe, appendix, aria, arrest, avoid, back matter, bass passage, belay, bis, bob, book, bourdon, bridge, burden, cadence, cancel, canto, cantus, cease, chant, check, chorus, coda, codicil, colophon, conclusion, consequence, constrain, continuance, continuation, couplet, curb, cut it out, descant, desist, development, discontinue, dispense with, distich, ditto, division, do without, double take, drop it, dying words, end, envoi, epilogue, epode, eschew, exposition, figure, folderol, follow-through, follow-up, forbear, forgo, give over, give up, halt, harmonic close, have done with, heptastich, hexastich, hold, hold aloof from, hold back, hold off, inhibit, interlude, intermezzo, interrupt, introductory phrase, keep, keep back, keep from, keep in hand, knock it off, last words, lay, lay off, leave off, let alone, let go by, line, measure, melodia, melodic line, melody, monostich, movement, musical phrase, musical sentence, never touch, not touch, not use, note, octastich, octave, octet, ornament, ottava rima, part, parting shot, pass up, passage, pentastich, period, peroration, phrase, postface, postfix, postlude, postscript, quatrain, quit, refrain from, relinquish, renounce, repeat, repetend, reprise, reserve, resolution, response, restrain, rhyme royal, ritornello, save, scrub, second thought, section, septet, sequel, sequela, sequelae, sequelant, sequent, sequitur, sestet, sextet, shun, solo, solo part, song, soprano part, spare, stand aloof from, stanza, statement, stave, stay, stop, strain, strophe, subscript, suffix, supplement, swan song, syllable, tag, tailpiece, tercet, terminate, terza rima, tetrastich, treble, triplet, tristich, tune, tutti, tutti passage, undersong, variation, verse, waive, withhold