absterse
v. C2 Proficiency ab·sterse
v. to stay away from something, especially something bad or harmful. It is an old word that people rarely use today.
v. to refrain from or avoid something, particularly in a moral or physical sense. Archaic in modern usage; primarily found in historical or literary contexts.
He chose to absterse from the feast to show his humility.
The monk decided to absterse from all worldly pleasures to focus on his spiritual growth.
In the absence of a clear legal precedent, the judge absterse from making a final ruling until the higher court could provide guidance.
From Middle English absterse, from Latin abstersus, perfect passive participle of abstergeō (“wipe off, wipe away”); formed from abs- + tergeō (“wipe”).