Abstained from (8)
I believe the answer is:
eschewed
'abstained from' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
This is all the clue.
(Other definitions for eschewed that I've seen before include "left alone?" , "Steered clear of" , "Shunned or avoided" , "not made use of" , "Deliberately avoided - chew seed (anag)" .)