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
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 abstemious
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
While that might sound painfully abstemious or downright torturous, We Care has a few key things going for it.
—Liz Krieger, Town & Country, 1 Mar. 2023
But somehow, during his more recent years in Gujarat, Modi had managed to rebrand himself as a sunny, pro-business techno-utopian, an abstemious leader with an intuitive grasp of 21st-century infrastructure and social media.
—Mohammad Ali, WIRED, 14 Apr. 2020
See All Example Sentences for abstemious
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
While that might sound painfully abstemious or downright torturous, We Care has a few key things going for it.
—Liz Krieger, Town & Country, 1 Mar. 2023
But somehow, during his more recent years in Gujarat, Modi had managed to rebrand himself as a sunny, pro-business techno-utopian, an abstemious leader with an intuitive grasp of 21st-century infrastructure and social media.
—Mohammad Ali, WIRED, 14 Apr. 2020
See All Example Sentences for abstemious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abstemious
Adjective
-
In fact, the ascetic value of fasting from meat required that the person otherwise enjoy it.—
Livia Gershon,
JSTOR Daily,
4 Aug. 2025
-
Greens embodied the ascetic lushness of the farm-to-table movement, which, in Northern California, was synonymous with the Berkeley restaurant Chez Panisse.—
John Birdsall,
New Yorker,
25 July 2025
Adjective
-
The marine creatures — named for French naturalist Antoine Risso — are found throughout tropical and temperate regions of the Earth’s oceans, particularly near continental shelves, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).—
Brendan Rascius,
Miami Herald,
4 Sep. 2025
-
In temperate areas, the feeder should be cleaned at least twice a week for the entire hummingbird season.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
Southern Living,
2 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Abstemious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abstemious. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share