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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for abstinent
Adjective
  • Quarantine by Jim Crace This 1997 novel follows Jesus during his 40-day ascetic retreat to a desert cave.
    Mia Barzilay Freund, Vogue, 7 July 2025
  • Martin lived an ascetic and solitary life, and often denounced overly cerebral art.
    Melissa Febos, The Atlantic, 9 June 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
  • Located on the North Island near the Manawatū River, Palmerston (Palmy, colloquially) is representative of many cities around the world, with a largely temperate climate and a population of around 91,000 residents.
    Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 7 May 2025
  • Today, these ants primarily live in undisturbed and temperate eastern North American forests.
    Lauren Thomann, Better Homes & Gardens, 9 May 2025
Adjective
  • The latest improbable yet inescapable sequel series premieres 21 years after Dexter first emerged, and like most Floridians who just reached legal drinking age, there’s nothing sober about it.
    Ben Travers, IndieWire, 10 July 2025
  • But staying sober was a struggle for the 36-year-old first responder from Atlanta, who did not wish to use his real name due to professional concerns.
    Mattha Busby, Wired News, 7 July 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.

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Abstinent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abstinent. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!