as in ascetic
given to or marked by restraint in the satisfaction of one's appetites
being abstemious diners, they avoid restaurants with all-you-can-eat buffets
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Recent Examples of abstemious
The solution offered up by some: the sort of abstemious, low-fat, often vegetarian, diets that had been prescribed as lust-control regimens only decades earlier.
—
Rachel Hope Cleves / Made By History, TIME, 14 Feb. 2025
Caroline Schiff, 38, the executive pastry chef at Brooklyn’s Gage & Tollner, says that a decade ago, abstemious diners often asked for sliced fruit in lieu of sugary creations.
—Ella Quittner, New York Times, 1 Dec. 2023
For the more abstemious, a bottle of Non3 ($30), a zero-proof sipping drink with notes of cinnamon and yuzu and a slightly tannic finish, alongside a Massimo Lunardon weird-little-dude goblet ($155)—not its official name, but certainly an accurate description of its weird-little-dudeness.
—Helen Rosner, The New Yorker, 19 Nov. 2023
Low mass has always been a Miata virtue, endowing the car with not just precise handling but also an abstemious appetite for tires and fuel.
—Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 21 July 2023
See All Example Sentences for abstemious
Rachel Hope Cleves / Made By History, TIME, 14 Feb. 2025
Caroline Schiff, 38, the executive pastry chef at Brooklyn’s Gage & Tollner, says that a decade ago, abstemious diners often asked for sliced fruit in lieu of sugary creations.
—Ella Quittner, New York Times, 1 Dec. 2023
For the more abstemious, a bottle of Non3 ($30), a zero-proof sipping drink with notes of cinnamon and yuzu and a slightly tannic finish, alongside a Massimo Lunardon weird-little-dude goblet ($155)—not its official name, but certainly an accurate description of its weird-little-dudeness.
—Helen Rosner, The New Yorker, 19 Nov. 2023
Low mass has always been a Miata virtue, endowing the car with not just precise handling but also an abstemious appetite for tires and fuel.
—Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 21 July 2023
See All Example Sentences for abstemious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abstemious
Adjective
-
Once inside, warm, tropical breezes flow into the hotel’s ascetic, nevertheless grand lobby, wafting you towards a magical cloister filled with plants and robust Botero sculptures.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
25 May 2026
-
Grothendieck was intense and ascetic from his early days.—
Konstantin Kakaes,
Quanta Magazine,
20 May 2026
Adjective
-
These grasses thrive in cooler climates, though some can be found in the Southern states (especially in the temperate Upper South), including the following species.—
Steve Bender,
Southern Living,
11 June 2026
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Those in temperate regions can keep it in a pot that's brought indoors for winter.—
Alexandra Jones,
The Spruce,
10 June 2026
Adjective
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One of the sacrifices Dolan mentioned in his speech was staying abstinent.—
Mark Harris OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
18 June 2026
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Like Ash Wednesday, Good Friday is a day where Catholics are obliged to fast and stay abstinent throughout the day until midnight.—
Mariyam Muhammad,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
1 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Abstemious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abstemious. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.
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