1 The act of voluntarily refraining from taking some action, such as casting a vote or participating in a decision or deliberation. 2 A federal court's act of declining to exercise its jurisdiction while awaiting or deferring to a decision by a state court. In doing so, the federal court retains jurisdiction of the legal issues at hand and may decide those issues if the plaintiff is not satisfied with the state court's decision. See also comity and relinquishment.Several rationales for a fede...