self-abnegation

noun

self-ab·​ne·​ga·​tion ˌself-ˌab-ni-ˈgā-shən 

plural self-abnegations

: self-denial, self-sacrifice

… the notion that having a baby demands complete and total self-abnegation, and anything short of that is not enough.

—Jessi Klein

Synonyms

• abstinence
• continence
• self-denial
• sobriety
• temperance

Examples of self-abnegation in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Honoré recalls the dirt of a horny adolescent’s lust, the emotional confusion that twists desire for contact and intimacy into degradation, self-abnegation, and the longing for salvation — needs effaced by the title’s unclear American translation. —Armond White, National Review, 5 May 2023

The tenacious resistance among many Democratic politicians to publicly challenge the court’s misdeeds stands as a spectacular act of self-abnegation. —Simon Lazarus, The New Republic, 21 Apr. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1647, in the meaning defined above