as in refusal
the act or practice of giving up or rejecting something once enjoyed or desired
the couple's sudden abnegation of life in the fast lane for work as missionaries stunned everyone
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of abnegation
Is that an abnegation of interviewer responsibility?
—
David Marchese David Marchese Photograph By Mamadi Doumbouya, New York Times, 8 Oct. 2023
The life that Alharthi describes is one of almost saintly self-abnegation.
—Ron Charles, Washington Post, 24 May 2022
His naïve insolence punctures the vanities of other filmmakers while offering no alternative, and the movie that results is a joyless, confused self-abnegation.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 11 Apr. 2022
The explicit and quasi-religious abnegation of the right to violent self-defense put the national committee at odds with one of its key allies during the Saturday march: Black Lives Matter.
—Samantha Eyler, Foreign Affairs, 31 Jan. 2017
See All Example Sentences for abnegation
David Marchese David Marchese Photograph By Mamadi Doumbouya, New York Times, 8 Oct. 2023
The life that Alharthi describes is one of almost saintly self-abnegation.
—Ron Charles, Washington Post, 24 May 2022
His naïve insolence punctures the vanities of other filmmakers while offering no alternative, and the movie that results is a joyless, confused self-abnegation.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 11 Apr. 2022
The explicit and quasi-religious abnegation of the right to violent self-defense put the national committee at odds with one of its key allies during the Saturday march: Black Lives Matter.
—Samantha Eyler, Foreign Affairs, 31 Jan. 2017
See All Example Sentences for abnegation
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abnegation
Noun
-
In fact, the GOP has made things worse, with tax policies favoring corporations over working people, a refusal to expand health access through Medicaid and keeping some of the lowest unemployment benefits of any state.—
Steve Bousquet,
Sun Sentinel,
11 Apr. 2026
-
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier on Thursday sent a letter to Barry University School of Law warning that the institution is in violation of the state’s consumer protection laws over its refusal to recognize a student chapter of Turning Point USA.—
Claire Carter,
The Washington Examiner,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The department said the new $450 fee remains well below the government’s actual cost of processing renunciation requests.—
Michael Dorgan,
FOXNews.com,
14 Mar. 2026
-
British psychiatrist Humphry Osmond, who took part in a peyote ceremony with a First Nations group the Red Pheasant Band in Saskatchewan, Canada, in 1956, intuited the necessity of community, empathy, and ego renunciation during the psychedelic process.—
Erica Rex,
STAT,
19 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Dateline contacted the Arkansas State Police for more information regarding the denial, but has not yet heard back.—
Edie Peffley,
NBC news,
19 Apr. 2026
-
Beware of denial As the joke goes, CRQC has been 10 to 20 years away for the past three decades.—
Stephen Clark,
ArsTechnica,
17 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Abnegation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abnegation. Accessed 21 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
