abstemious

adjective

ab·ste·mi·ous ab-ˈstē-mē-əs How to pronounce abstemious (audio)

formal

: marked by restraint especially in the eating of food or drinking of alcohol

an abstemious drinker

also : reflecting such restraint

an abstemious diet

abstemiously adverb

abstemiousness noun

Did you know?

Abstemious and abstain look alike, and both have meanings involving self-restraint or self-denial. So they must both come from the same root, right? Yes and no. Both get their start from the Latin prefix abs-, meaning "from" or "away." But abstain traces to the Latin abstinēre, a combination of abs- and the Latin verb tenēre ("to hold"), while abstemious comes from the Latin abstēmius, which combines abs- with tēm- (a stem found in the Latin tēmētum, "intoxicating beverage," and tēmulentus, "drunken") and the adjectival suffix -ius ("full of, abounding in, having, possessing the qualities of").

Example Sentences

She is known as an abstemious eater and drinker. being abstemious diners, they avoid restaurants with all-you-can-eat buffets

Recent Examples on the Web Carter was consistently ethical, abstemious, frugal and ascetic in the White House.

Washington Post, 18 June 2021 This woman, Margaret Bolden Wilson, was a Seventh-day Adventist who would have been considered abstemious even by the most devout.

Colin Asher, The New Republic, 19 Apr. 2021 People grow more risk-averse, abstemious, religious.

Dhruv Khullar, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2021 In a nation with an abstemious Protestant cultural heritage, self-indulgence—and comfort for its own sake—will always find hackles to raise.

Amanda Mull, The Atlantic, 8 Dec. 2020 Gay, bow-tied, effusive, charismatic, and possessed of a lavish appetite, Beard had the misfortune to live in an era at once bigoted, repressed, paranoid, abstemious, and uninterestingly dressed.

Aaron Timms, The New Republic, 4 Dec. 2020 Glenn is abstemious, churchgoing, devoted to his childhood sweetheart wife; Shepard lives the rock star life away from his wife, Louise (Shannon Lucio), drinking and philandering and cruising Florida’s Cocoa Beach in a Corvette convertible.

cleveland, 9 Oct. 2020 Freddy was an awkward fit in a proud, humorless, abstemious family.

Anne Diebel, The New York Review of Books, 8 Sep. 2020 This year’s exercise, which runs from August 17th to 31st, will be a more abstemious affair.

The Economist, 16 Aug. 2020 See More

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin abstēmius "refraining from wine, careful with one's means," from abs- (variant of ab- ab- before c- and t-) + -tēmius, from a base tēm- "intoxicating" (also in tēmētum "intoxicating beverage," tēmulentus "drunken"); if going back to an Indo-European root *temH-, akin to Sanskrit tāmyati "(he/she) is stunned, loses consciousness, is exhausted," tamayati "(he/she) chokes (someone)," Armenian tʿmrim "(he/she) is stunned" (perhaps going back to *tēmiro-)

First Known Use

1609, in the meaning defined above

单词	abstemious
释义	abstemious adjective ab·ste·mi·ous ab-ˈstē-mē-əs formal : marked by restraint especially in the eating of food or drinking of alcohol an abstemious drinker also : reflecting such restraint an abstemious diet abstemiously adverb abstemiousness noun Did you know? Abstemious and abstain look alike, and both have meanings involving self-restraint or self-denial. So they must both come from the same root, right? Yes and no. Both get their start from the Latin prefix abs-, meaning "from" or "away." But abstain traces to the Latin abstinēre, a combination of abs- and the Latin verb tenēre ("to hold"), while abstemious comes from the Latin abstēmius, which combines abs- with tēm- (a stem found in the Latin tēmētum, "intoxicating beverage," and tēmulentus, "drunken") and the adjectival suffix -ius ("full of, abounding in, having, possessing the qualities of"). Synonyms abstentious abstinent continent self-abnegating self-denying sober temperate See all Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences She is known as an abstemious eater and drinker. being abstemious diners, they avoid restaurants with all-you-can-eat buffets Recent Examples on the Web Carter was consistently ethical, abstemious, frugal and ascetic in the White House. Washington Post, 18 June 2021 This woman, Margaret Bolden Wilson, was a Seventh-day Adventist who would have been considered abstemious even by the most devout. Colin Asher, The New Republic, 19 Apr. 2021 People grow more risk-averse, abstemious, religious. Dhruv Khullar, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2021 In a nation with an abstemious Protestant cultural heritage, self-indulgence—and comfort for its own sake—will always find hackles to raise. Amanda Mull, The Atlantic, 8 Dec. 2020 Gay, bow-tied, effusive, charismatic, and possessed of a lavish appetite, Beard had the misfortune to live in an era at once bigoted, repressed, paranoid, abstemious, and uninterestingly dressed. Aaron Timms, The New Republic, 4 Dec. 2020 Glenn is abstemious, churchgoing, devoted to his childhood sweetheart wife; Shepard lives the rock star life away from his wife, Louise (Shannon Lucio), drinking and philandering and cruising Florida’s Cocoa Beach in a Corvette convertible. cleveland, 9 Oct. 2020 Freddy was an awkward fit in a proud, humorless, abstemious family. Anne Diebel, The New York Review of Books, 8 Sep. 2020 This year’s exercise, which runs from August 17th to 31st, will be a more abstemious affair. The Economist, 16 Aug. 2020 See More Word History Etymology borrowed from Latin abstēmius "refraining from wine, careful with one's means," from abs- (variant of ab- ab- before c- and t-) + -tēmius, from a base tēm- "intoxicating" (also in tēmētum "intoxicating beverage," tēmulentus "drunken"); if going back to an Indo-European root temH-, akin to Sanskrit tāmyati* "(he/she) is stunned, loses consciousness, is exhausted," tamayati "(he/she) chokes (someone)," Armenian tʿmrim "(he/she) is stunned" (perhaps going back to tēmiro-) First Known Use 1609, in the meaning defined above abstemious adjective 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 Synonyms & Similar Words Relevance ascetic abstinent temperate ascetical abstentious sober self-denying self-abnegating continent austere disciplined self-disciplined self-controlled self-governed Antonyms & Near Antonyms gluttonous voracious greedy hedonistic sybaritic voluptuous rapacious sensual self-indulgent voluptuary onanistic self-pleasing masturbatory Cyrenaic See More
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abstemious

adjective

Did you know?

Synonyms

Example Sentences

Word History

adjective