Nutrition An edible plant or part of a plant other than a sweet fruit or seed (nut). Defining a plant food as a vegetable is somewhat arbitrary and depends on use. As an example, tomatoes are botanically defined as fruits, but used as vegetables. Vox populi A common, albeit un-PC, term for a person in persistent vegetative state.
The definition of abstain is choosing to not do something. An example of abstain is to not eat animal products during Lent. Abstain means to not vote. An example of abstain would be a senator who chooses not to vote on a particular bill.
Abstinence is a self-enforced restraint from indulging in bodily activities that are widely experienced as giving pleasure. Most frequently, the term refers to sexual abstinence, or abstinence from alcohol or food. The practice can arise from religious prohibitions and practical considerations. Abstinence may also refer to drugs. For example, one can abstain from smoking. Abstinence has diverse forms. Commonly it refers to a temporary or partial abstinence from food, as in fasting. In the twelve-step program of Overeaters Anonymous abstinence is the term for refraining from compulsive eating, akin in meaning to sobriety for alcoholics. Because the regimen is intended to be a conscious act, freely chosen to enhance life, abstinence is sometimes distinguished from the psychological mechanism of repression.