abstinent

as in ascetic
given to or marked by restraint in the satisfaction of one's appetites grew up in a family where abstinent behavior was expected and self-indulgence of any kind was scorned and castigated

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for abstinent
Adjective
  • This is especially clear in the contrast between Marcus Luria and his father, the ascetic sage Zalia Ziskind.
    Adam Kirsch, The New Yorker, 21 Mar. 2025
  • While Mathu is an ascetic loner, Malby was a hedonistic womanizer.
    Matthew Carey, Deadline, 20 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Some have evolved exceedingly specific diets—diets that would put even the most abstemious human to shame.
    Scott Travers, Forbes, 12 Mar. 2025
  • The solution offered up by some: the sort of abstemious, low-fat, often vegetarian, diets that had been prescribed as lust-control regimens only decades earlier.
    Rachel Hope Cleves / Made by History, TIME, 14 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • The temperate weather eliminates the need for expensive insulation, heating systems, and other winter-proofing measures typical of northern builds.
    Katherine McLaughlin, Architectural Digest, 11 Mar. 2025
  • Unlike the Antarctic of today, Late-Cretaceous Antarctica was warmer and wetter, with temperate weather and lush vegetation.
    Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 5 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • The facility has a unit for patients withdrawing from drugs or alcohol, as well as a residential portion for patients needing such a stay, and a sober living unit.
    Helen I. Bennett, Hartford Courant, 27 Mar. 2025
  • Here, experts and sober influencers share their favorite go-to responses.
    Angela Haupt, Time, 26 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • The cross-continent trek for Rye Riptides, which students and now-retired Rye Junior High School science teacher Sheila Adams stuffed with photos of the Rye students, a facemask with their signatures on it, fall leaves, acorns and state quarters, was conducted with the help of Educational Passages.
    Ian Lenahan, USA TODAY, 17 Feb. 2022
  • The totem pole was carved by members of the Lummi Nation and is being transported from their home in Washington state to Washington, D.C., as part of a 15-day, cross-continent journey to advocate for the protection of sacred places and the expansion of tribal sovereignty rights.
    Zak Podmore, The Salt Lake Tribune, 18 July 2021
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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“Abstinent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abstinent. Accessed 3 Apr. 2025.

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