abstinence

noun ab·sti·nence \ ˈab-stə-nən(t)s \

Definition of abstinence

1 : the practice of abstaining from something : the practice of not doing or having something that is wanted or enjoyable

… ate with a haste and an apparent relish, that seemed to betoken long abstinence from food.
—Walter Scott

2 a : habitual abstaining from intoxicating beverages

b : abstention from sexual intercourse

—

abstinent

play \-nənt\ adjective

—

abstinently

adverb

See abstinence defined for English-language learners

See abstinence defined for kids

Examples of abstinence in a Sentence

The program promoted sexual abstinence for young people.
a cleric vainly preaching abstinence in a world where self-indulgence is regarded as almost a virtue

Recent Examples of abstinence from the Web

If diversion programs demanding abstinence are unavailable, trial judges may be more inclined to sentence defendants to incarceration rather than probation.

— stephen j. morse and, WSJ, "Addiction Shouldn’t Excuse Criminal Acts," 1 Oct. 2017
More therapy tools means a greater potential to help improve outcomes, including abstinence, for patients with substance use disorder.

— lily herman, Teen Vogue, "New App Reset May Help Treat Substance Use Disorder," 15 Sep. 2017
And a private Christian school could not fire a pregnant, unmarried, abstinence-education teacher.

— margot cleveland, National Review, "Jerry Brown Vetoes a Bill to Curtail Religious Liberty, and the Left Reacts," 18 Oct. 2017
But the number of newborns statewide who were diagnosed with opioid-withdrawal symptoms known as neonatal abstinence syndrome dropped by 68 cases to 1,468, bucking the past decades’ trend of steady increase.

— naseem s. miller, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Amidst opioid epidemic, new medical codes may have muddled data," 17 Oct. 2017
Some research has found buprenorphine treatment was better than methadone at lowering the incidence of neonatal abstinence syndrome.

— beth warren, The Courier-Journal, "Drug-addiction treatment demystified: How effective are they and who's a good candidate?," 12 Oct. 2017
Nationally, the rate of American children born with neonatal abstinence syndrome, a set of symptoms experienced by babies exposed to drugs in the womb, has quadrupled over the past 15 years.

— hannah rappleye, NBC News, "Born Addicted: The Number of Opioid-Addicted Babies Is Soaring," 9 Oct. 2017
The child, meanwhile, is being treated for neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), which occurs when a baby is exposed to drugs in the womb and goes through drug withdrawal after birth.

— john caniglia, cleveland.com, "Cost of opioid epidemic soars, hitting taxpayers harder than ever," 8 Oct. 2017
On tobacco, the only acceptable goal became abstinence.

— john tierney, WSJ, "New York’s Mayor Gives Smokers Another Reason Not to Quit," 8 Sep. 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of abstinence

Middle English, borrowed from Anglo-French, borrowed from Latin abstinentia, noun derivative of abstinent-, abstinens, present participle of abstinēre "to abstain"

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year