as in refusal
the act or practice of giving up or rejecting something once enjoyed or desired
the couple's sudden abnegation of life in the fast lane for work as missionaries stunned everyone
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Recent Examples of abnegation
The life that Alharthi describes is one of almost saintly self-abnegation.
—
Ron Charles, Washington Post, 24 May 2022
His naïve insolence punctures the vanities of other filmmakers while offering no alternative, and the movie that results is a joyless, confused self-abnegation.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 11 Apr. 2022
That abnegation of critical judgment is the most important feature of the 1994 statement.
—Michael Bérubé, The New Republic, 21 Mar. 2022
Where to go in a world where every slight, every frown, every chagrin, every cloud and every rainy day is a cause for outrage, denunciation, shame, self-abnegation and maybe even a congressional investigation or two?
—WSJ, 14 June 2021
See all Example Sentences for abnegation 
Ron Charles, Washington Post, 24 May 2022
His naïve insolence punctures the vanities of other filmmakers while offering no alternative, and the movie that results is a joyless, confused self-abnegation.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 11 Apr. 2022
That abnegation of critical judgment is the most important feature of the 1994 statement.
—Michael Bérubé, The New Republic, 21 Mar. 2022
Where to go in a world where every slight, every frown, every chagrin, every cloud and every rainy day is a cause for outrage, denunciation, shame, self-abnegation and maybe even a congressional investigation or two?
—WSJ, 14 June 2021
See all Example Sentences for abnegation
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abnegation
Noun
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What to watch: Trump is considering an executive order delaying enforcement of the TikTok ban to give the administration time to find a U.S. buyer, despite ByteDance's refusal to sell for the past eight months.—
Zachary Basu,
Axios,
18 Jan. 2025
-
Trump, a Republican, left office in 2021 as a political pariah after his refusal to accept his loss to Democrat Joe Biden led a mob to overrun the Capitol.—
Michelle L. Price,
Chicago Tribune,
18 Jan. 2025
Noun
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So the practice of love turns on a renunciation of control.—
Sean Illing,
Vox,
9 Dec. 2024
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Syria The large question hanging over our Syria policy is whether the rebel group chiefly responsible for toppling the Assad regime, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or Organization for the Liberation of the Levant, is sincere in its renunciation of terrorism and Taliban-style Islamism.—
Bret Stephens,
The Mercury News,
12 Dec. 2024
Noun
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But, as Hurston must have understood on some level, there was little chance that Hollywood would touch her book, because the key move in her revision of Biblical history was the denial of the divinity of Jesus.—
Louis Menand,
The New Yorker,
13 Jan. 2025
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What To Know About Chris Wright Chris Wright, CEO of Liberty Energy and Donald Trump's nominee for energy secretary, has faced criticism for his outspoken denial of the climate crisis and for Liberty Energy's involvement in a racial bias lawsuit, which was settled with federal authorities in 2024.—
John Mac Ghlionn,
Newsweek,
13 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near abnegation
Cite this Entry
“Abnegation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abnegation. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.
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