1
as in temperateness
an avoidance of extremes in one's actions, beliefs, or habits
my father attributes his ripe old age to temperance in all things, especially eating and drinking
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in abstinence
voluntary restraint in the satisfaction of one's appetites
practices a blue-blooded temperance that his parvenu neighbors will never understand
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of temperance
For instance, trust will be eroded when a person demonstrates a lack of temperance, which manifests as being agitated, impatient, inattentive, rash, and anxious instead of being composed, patient, prudent, self-controlled, and calm.
—
Mary Crossan, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025
For example, research at the Ivey Business School reveals that temperance (being calm, composed, patient, prudent, and self-controlled) is one of the weakest character dimensions for many people.
—Mary Crossan, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025
Americans joined for all kinds of purposes, from pursuing hobbies like music, to advocating such extremely controversial and divisive causes as temperance, peace, and the abolition of slavery.
—Johann Neem / Made By History, TIME, 2 Jan. 2025
His ideas found a warm reception in the United States at the onset of the Progressive Era, as Americans preached simplicity and the control of passions (temperance was by then a mass movement) with an almost religious zeal.
—Jennifer Wilson, The New Yorker, 16 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for temperance
Mary Crossan, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025
For example, research at the Ivey Business School reveals that temperance (being calm, composed, patient, prudent, and self-controlled) is one of the weakest character dimensions for many people.
—Mary Crossan, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025
Americans joined for all kinds of purposes, from pursuing hobbies like music, to advocating such extremely controversial and divisive causes as temperance, peace, and the abolition of slavery.
—Johann Neem / Made By History, TIME, 2 Jan. 2025
His ideas found a warm reception in the United States at the onset of the Progressive Era, as Americans preached simplicity and the control of passions (temperance was by then a mass movement) with an almost religious zeal.
—Jennifer Wilson, The New Yorker, 16 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for temperance
Recent Examples of Synonyms for temperance
Noun
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But outside, the infrastructure available to him was built on abstinence.—
Ethan Brooks,
The Atlantic,
23 Apr. 2025
-
By 1982, schools in Pennsylvania, Florida, and Ohio had challenged the book for not promoting abstinence or monogamy.—
Shannon Carlin,
Time,
8 May 2025
Noun
-
At the foundation of Francis’s death of ego and rebirth of self is his meticulous practice of sobriety.—
Garret K. Woodward,
Rolling Stone,
18 May 2025
-
Lee has been to rehab multiple times over the years with stretches of sobriety in between.—
Christie D’Zurilla,
Los Angeles Times,
16 May 2025
Noun
-
Such defensive discipline and intelligent street-smarts have meant that Inzaghi’s side have trailed for just 16 minutes across the whole Champions League campaign — just one per cent of their total time on the pitch.—
Mark Carey,
New York Times,
31 May 2025
-
The combination of meditation and art gave me both discipline and expression.—
Shekar Natarajan,
Forbes.com,
30 May 2025
Noun
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After George Floyd was killed in 2020, many police departments across the country banned or restricted the knee-on-neck restraint.—
Rose Evans,
Idaho Statesman,
27 May 2025
-
Rickson stages both plays with elegant restraint, arranging just a few bits of furniture in front of a bare brick wall.—
Helen Shaw,
New Yorker,
22 May 2025
Noun
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This includes the five major types: stress incontinence, urge incontinence, mixed incontinence, overflow incontinence, and functional continence.—
Jamin Brahmbhatt,
Verywell Health,
29 July 2024
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Good posture helps maintain continence, support pelvic organs, and reduce back pain.—
Staci Tanouye,
Parents,
29 Aug. 2023
Noun
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But the biblical term for self-denial – inui – has another meaning.—
Rabbi Avi Weiss,
Sun Sentinel,
7 Oct. 2024
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The Ford Focus Electric, with its appealing, Euro-hatchback lines, lacks the frumpy feel of self-denial often associated with electric cars.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
28 Mar. 2012
Noun
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Her vocation requires the skill of transformation and self-abnegation, as well as a receptiveness to language and emotion not her own.—
Jordan Kisner,
The Atlantic,
4 Apr. 2025
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The audience responds gratefully to this level of self-abnegation, and the frankly chilling sounds that come out of her.—
Helen Shaw,
The New Yorker,
25 Oct. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Temperance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/temperance. Accessed 3 Jun. 2025.
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