1
as in refusal
the act or practice of giving up or rejecting something once enjoyed or desired
dieting is an endless exercise in self-denial
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in temperance
voluntary restraint in the satisfaction of one's appetites
self-indulgent even when she was poor, she wasn't about to practice self-denial after getting rich
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of self-denial
But the biblical term for self-denial – inui – has another meaning.
—
Rabbi Avi Weiss, Sun Sentinel, 7 Oct. 2024
The Ford Focus Electric, with its appealing, Euro-hatchback lines, lacks the frumpy feel of self-denial often associated with electric cars.
—IEEE Spectrum, 28 Mar. 2012
Loneliness gets to the heart of the spiritual dissatisfaction and self-denial seen post-Covid and in both the pro-Hamas and pro–George Floyd rioting.
—Armond White, National Review, 10 May 2024
Crace transports readers 2,000 years into the past to a stark Biblical landscape full of visceral encounters, violence, self-denial, and possible miracles.
—Mia Barzilay Freund, Vogue, 29 Mar. 2024
The last week of January in particular would be an excellent time to decamp somewhere pretty, travel for pleasure, or do some spiritual seeking (but maybe the kind that comes with laughter and good food, and not strict rules and self-denial).
—Steph Koyfman, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 Dec. 2023
Shocking self-indulgence sits cheek by jowl with self-denial.
—Tobi Haslett, Harper's Magazine, 18 Sep. 2023
That an ancient philosophy based on self-denial could find an audience among TikTokers, subredditors, and gladiatorial millionaires suggested two possibilities: Stoicism either had quite a lot going for it, or nothing at all.
—Tom Bissell, Harper’s Magazine , 10 Apr. 2023
Rabbi Avi Weiss, Sun Sentinel, 7 Oct. 2024
The Ford Focus Electric, with its appealing, Euro-hatchback lines, lacks the frumpy feel of self-denial often associated with electric cars.
—IEEE Spectrum, 28 Mar. 2012
Loneliness gets to the heart of the spiritual dissatisfaction and self-denial seen post-Covid and in both the pro-Hamas and pro–George Floyd rioting.
—Armond White, National Review, 10 May 2024
Crace transports readers 2,000 years into the past to a stark Biblical landscape full of visceral encounters, violence, self-denial, and possible miracles.
—Mia Barzilay Freund, Vogue, 29 Mar. 2024
The last week of January in particular would be an excellent time to decamp somewhere pretty, travel for pleasure, or do some spiritual seeking (but maybe the kind that comes with laughter and good food, and not strict rules and self-denial).
—Steph Koyfman, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 Dec. 2023
Shocking self-indulgence sits cheek by jowl with self-denial.
—Tobi Haslett, Harper's Magazine, 18 Sep. 2023
That an ancient philosophy based on self-denial could find an audience among TikTokers, subredditors, and gladiatorial millionaires suggested two possibilities: Stoicism either had quite a lot going for it, or nothing at all.
—Tom Bissell, Harper’s Magazine , 10 Apr. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-denial
Noun
-
Still, despite its unevenness, a general lack of innovation, and the stubborn refusal to properly onboard new players, Wilds feels like the best Monster Hunter yet.—
Josh Broadwell,
Rolling Stone,
24 Feb. 2025
-
What To Know The confrontation occurred during a White House meeting where Trump questioned Mills about Maine's refusal to comply with his executive order banning transgender women from competing in women's and girls' sports.—
Mark Joseph,
Newsweek,
24 Feb. 2025
Noun
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The second report, released in December by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, caused a stir in the research and temperance communities.—
Daniel de Visé,
USA TODAY,
15 Feb. 2025
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Where temperance crusaders once wielded biblical rhetoric, today’s public health researchers arrive with cancer studies and statistics.—
Jackie Snow,
Quartz,
13 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Judge Tanya Chutkan’s denial of relief is a victory for President Trump, as anticipated here after the judge held a hearing on Monday.—
Andrew C. McCarthy,
National Review,
19 Feb. 2025
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Those who don’t believe this are either in denial or are not paying attention.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
13 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Enacted after the Civil War as a renunciation of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dred Scott v. Sandford, which held that Black people are not citizens of the U.S., the birthright citizenship clause has been relatively uncontested since 1868.—
Henry Gass,
The Christian Science Monitor,
30 Jan. 2025
-
So the practice of love turns on a renunciation of control.—
Sean Illing,
Vox,
9 Dec. 2024
Noun
-
The feats, the ecstasies, the prostrations and abnegations.—
James Parker,
The Atlantic,
10 Jan. 2025
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The explicit and quasi-religious abnegation of the right to violent self-defense put the national committee at odds with one of its key allies during the Saturday march: Black Lives Matter.—
Samantha Eyler,
Foreign Affairs,
31 Jan. 2017
Cite this Entry
“Self-denial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-denial. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
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