as in ascetic
given to or marked by restraint in the satisfaction of one's appetites
being abstemious diners, they avoid restaurants with all-you-can-eat buffets
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Recent Examples of abstemious
For the more abstemious, a bottle of Non3 ($30), a zero-proof sipping drink with notes of cinnamon and yuzu and a slightly tannic finish, alongside a Massimo Lunardon weird-little-dude goblet ($155)—not its official name, but certainly an accurate description of its weird-little-dudeness.
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Helen Rosner, The New Yorker, 19 Nov. 2023
Low mass has always been a Miata virtue, endowing the car with not just precise handling but also an abstemious appetite for tires and fuel.
—Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 21 July 2023
While that might sound painfully abstemious or downright torturous, We Care has a few key things going for it.
—Liz Krieger, Town & Country, 1 Mar. 2023
But somehow, during his more recent years in Gujarat, Modi had managed to rebrand himself as a sunny, pro-business techno-utopian, an abstemious leader with an intuitive grasp of 21st-century infrastructure and social media.
—Mohammad Ali, WIRED, 14 Apr. 2020
See All Example Sentences for abstemious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abstemious
Adjective
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Despite his limitations, Joe displayed an impressive degree of ascetic discipline and a ravenous desire for God.—
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The fantastical park resembles a theatre set, rife with spiritual allegory and modeled on an ascetic’s dream of utopia.—
Adjective
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The good thing is, most plants native to temperate parts of the globe evolved ways to deal with the annual seasonal cycle.—
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Heating the indoor air in winter means the air will retain more moisture (it won't be dispersed to help humidify plants or your sinuses), but lowering the thermostat to a temperate 68 degrees F can help increase relative humidity in your home, and this can help your houseplants stay vibrant.—
Adjective
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Some people want to remain abstinent to focus on their own personal growth, while others have resorted to it after becoming frustrated with today's dating culture.—
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Ivan Neville has been on a few times and always talks being abstinent.—
Cite this Entry
“Abstemious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abstemious. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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