as in ascetic
given to or marked by restraint in the satisfaction of one's appetites
abstentious by nature, she eats only to satisfy actual hunger—never just for the sake of eating
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abstentious
Adjective
-
Housed in a bulletproof case, the delicate bones reveal the saint’s ascetic life while strict security protects relics from historical theft.—
Nicole Winfield,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Feb. 2026 -
Later in life Foucault will become more ascetic, but not yet.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Lunchtimes are more abstemious with avocado and tuna packed poke bowls and watermelon salad at the W lounge.—
Jemima Sissons,
Condé Nast Traveler,
22 Jan. 2026
-
His first term now looks practically abstemious.—
Erin Neil,
New Yorker,
21 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The San Jose Sharks missed an opportunity Tuesday to finish a cross-continent road trip on a positive note and make up some ground in their bid for a playoff spot.—
Curtis Pashelka,
Mercury News,
18 Mar. 2026
-
Recent developments include cross-continent robotic surgeries between Rome and Beijing.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
13 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
At the end of six months, those who had taken just one dose of psilocybin had more than six times greater odds of being abstinent from cigarettes than their counterparts who relied on the nicotine substitute.—
Will Stone,
NPR,
10 Mar. 2026
-
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.—
Suzanne Blake,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
The answer was right under its nose—the original site of Art Basel, the namesake of the companies’ major cultural piece of IP, which also happens to be within the serene borders of Switzerland but in a more temperate Rhineland climate.—
Nate Freeman,
Vanity Fair,
20 Mar. 2026
-
Based on these parameters, scientists estimate the planet’s equilibrium temperature to be around 368 K, placing it in a relatively warm but still temperate range for rocky exoplanets.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Mar. 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Abstentious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abstentious. Accessed 27 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
