temperance

noun tem·per·ance \ ˈtem-p(ə-)rən(t)s , -pərn(t)s \

Updated on: 21 Apr 2018

1 : moderation in action, thought, or feeling : restraint

2 a : habitual moderation in the indulgence of the appetites or passions

b : moderation in or abstinence from the use of alcoholic beverages

See temperance defined for English-language learners

See temperance defined for kids

Examples of temperance in a Sentence

The minister preached about temperance.
my father attributes his ripe old age to temperance in all things, especially eating and drinking

Recent Examples of temperance from the Web

Audience members will be invited to join in temperance songs.

— joy davis, Aurora Beacon-News, "Community discussion planned in Aurora," 5 Apr. 2018
The temperance movement is upturned by drinking songs and free beer passed out by the dandy minions.

— mark swed, latimes.com, "The brash, profane, funny, infuriating, high-flying first chapter of Taylor Mac's '24-Decade History'," 16 Mar. 2018
All, with the possible exception of temperance, were honored in the century to follow.

— david m. shribman, BostonGlobe.com, "The rise and fall of a superpower," 16 Mar. 2018
And France’s plans exemplify a digital temperance movement that might yet become widespread.

— marcel o’gorman, The Atlantic, "The Case for Locking Up Your Smartphone," 2 Feb. 2018
The fountain pays tribute to the temperance movement, a seemingly fitting nod to a state that is only now on the cusp of allowing Sunday alcohol sales at grocery stores and whose homegrown Vice President Mike Pence drinks non-alcoholic beer.

— maureen groppe, Indianapolis Star, "7 sobering facts about D.C.'s temperance monument, appropriately on Indiana Plaza," 26 Feb. 2018
There was a lot of money in the anti-suffrage campaign from the liquor industry, because many suffragists also supported the temperance movement, and from the manufacturers, because women voters might want to outlaw child labor.

— anna diamond, Smithsonian, "How Tennessee Became the Final Battleground in the Fight for Suffrage," 22 Feb. 2018
By the turn of the 20th century, the temperance movement had gotten even stronger, with a number of prominent organizations pushing for reform.

— lillian cunningham, Washington Post, "Episode 14 of the Constitutional podcast: ‘Prohibition’," 1 Jan. 2018
In 1846, Frederick Douglass most likely provoked some temperance leaders at a rally in London by declaring that slavery was an even greater evil than alcoholism.

— sam roberts, New York Times, "Frederick Douglass in Brooklyn," 15 Feb. 2018

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

Did You Know?

Since temperance means basically "moderation", you might assume that, with respect to alcohol, temperance would mean moderate consumption, or "social drinking". Instead, the word has usually meant the prohibition of all alcohol. To temperance leaders such as Carry Nation, the safest form of drinking was no alcohol at all. Believing she was upholding the law, Nation began her hatchet-swinging attacks on saloons, known as "hatchetations", in the 1890s. National prohibition did eventually come—and go—but largely through the efforts of more temperate (that is, moderate) reformers.

Origin and Etymology of temperance

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin temperantia, from temperant-, temperans, present participle of temperare to moderate, be moderate

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

temperance Synonyms

TEMPERANCE Defined for English Language Learners

temperance

noun

: the practice of drinking little or no alcohol
: the practice of always controlling your actions, thoughts, or feelings so that you do not eat or drink too much, become too angry, etc.

TEMPERANCE Defined for Kids

temperance

noun tem·per·ance \ ˈtem-pə-rəns , -prəns \

1 : control over actions, thoughts, or feelings

2 : the use of little or no liquor

Word Root of temperance

The Latin word temperāre, meaning “to make mild,” “to control,” or “to soften,” gives us the root temper. Words from the Latin temperāre have something to do with mildness or control. To temper is to soften or make something less strong or difficult. Someone temperamental has little control over her or his mood and reactions to people and events. Temperature, or the degree of hotness or coldness, tells whether something is mild, too hot, or too cold.