as in ascetic
given to or marked by restraint in the satisfaction of one's appetites
obviously not for the self-abnegating vacationer, this luxury resort is for those whose budgets and appetites know no limit
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Recent Examples of self-abnegating
One of the West’s most glaring vulnerabilities to the influence of Russia—and China and Iran—is Hungary’s self-abnegating obeisance to those countries.
—
Mitch McConnell, Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2024
The president was characteristically decent and self-abnegating in his remarks.
—Lili Loofbourow, Washington Post, 25 July 2024
Mitch McConnell, Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2024
The president was characteristically decent and self-abnegating in his remarks.
—Lili Loofbourow, Washington Post, 25 July 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-abnegating
Adjective
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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
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Martin lived an ascetic and solitary life, and often denounced overly cerebral art.—
Melissa Febos,
The Atlantic,
9 June 2025
Adjective
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Some have evolved exceedingly specific diets—diets that would put even the most abstemious human to shame.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes,
12 Mar. 2025
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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
Cite this Entry
“Self-abnegating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-abnegating. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.
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