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
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Recent Examples of abstinent
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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Suzanne Blake, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Nov. 2025
Ivan Neville has been on a few times and always talks being abstinent.
—Shirley Halperin, Rolling Stone, 1 Oct. 2025
As a purist, Murray defines sobriety as being completely abstinent from habit-forming substances that could cause dependency, including prescription drugs like Xanax and Suboxone.
—Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 23 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abstinent
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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Some have evolved exceedingly specific diets—diets that would put even the most abstemious human to shame.—
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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.—
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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The center recently opened in a former church as a place where people can come for help to stay sober or for a free meal.—
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Finally, and quite simply, Shirley Temples fit smoothly into the ongoing sober-curious trend, especially popular among young adults.—
Adjective
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Goodee has one of the best stocks of artisan-made, one-of-a-kind homewares that don’t require a cross-continent trip to collect.—
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In addition to routes that go into the suburbs around the city, the cross-continent metro line known as the Marmaray connects the metro systems on both the European and Asian sides of Istanbul.—
Cite this Entry
“Abstinent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abstinent. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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