abnegation

noun ab·ne·ga·tion \ ˌab-ni-ˈgā-shən \

Definition of abnegation

formal

:denial; especially :self-denial

Monks practice abnegation of the material aspects of human life.

Examples of abnegation in a Sentence

the couple's sudden abnegation of life in the fast lane for work as missionaries stunned everyone

Recent Examples of abnegation from the Web

In Austen’s work, romantic union is seen not as the pragmatic abnegation of the self, but rather as the hopeful realization of it.

— megan garber, The Atlantic, "Colin Firth's Shirt: Jane Austen and the Rise of the Female Gaze," 17 July 2017
Greatness, in the context of the administration’s economic ideology, is built on a ground laid thick with self-abnegation.

— ginia bellafante, New York Times, "Even in Liberal Cities, Budgets Push Austerity Into Starvation Territory," 25 May 2017
In the 20th century, aristocratic restraint became middle-class self-abnegation.

— nikil saval, New York Times, "The Ghosts of Turin," 10 May 2017
Those works stand at the extreme of a consecrated self-abnegation that governs all her art.

— peter schjeldahl, The New Yorker, "The Beautiful and the Unexpected," 27 Feb. 2017
The Cleveland convention, with its baying calls for Mrs. Clinton to be jailed and for the abnegation of civil rights movements, did Mr. Trump no harm.

— declan walsh, New York Times, "Donald Trump and the Limits of the Improv Campaign JULY 22, 2016," 25 July 2016
The recent debt-ceiling crisis was a complete abnegation of fact.

— pete brook, WIRED, "Fred Ritchin Redefines Digital Photography," 2 Sep. 2011

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'abnegation.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Abnegation plays an important part in the teachings of all the major religions. The founder of Buddhism was a prince who gave up all his worldly goods when he discovered the world of poverty that lay outside the palace gates, and abnegation has been a Buddhism practice ever since. Hinduism has an even older tradition of abnegation. Special periods of abnegation and fasting may even be included in a religion's yearly calendar; serious Christians give up some pleasure for the 40-day period of Lent, for instance, and Muslims are forbidden to eat during daylight hours during the month of Ramadan.

Origin and Etymology of abnegation

Middle English abnegacioun, borrowed from Late Latin abnegātiōn-, abnegātiō, from Latin abnegāre "to refute, decline, deny" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of action nouns — more at abnegate

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First Known Use: 14th century

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