astensione

abstention

noun ah-sten-SYOH-neh Rare

Origin: From Latin abstentio, from abstinere, 'to hold back'.

Also means

abstinence

Usage Note

Astensione has two main uses: in voting, it means an abstention (neither yes nor no); in a broader sense it means refraining from something, such as astensione dal fumo (abstaining from smoking). In parliamentary reporting, results are often listed as favorevoli, contrari, astenuti — the last noun (astenuti) refers to those who abstained.

Examples

"C'è stata una sola astensione nel voto."

Natural Translation

There was only one abstention in the vote.

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