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
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
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
In Seoul’s Itaewon neighborhood, you’re reminded that South Korea is neither homogeneous nor locked into an abstemious order.
—E. Tammy Kim, The New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2022
See All Example Sentences for abstemious
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
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
In Seoul’s Itaewon neighborhood, you’re reminded that South Korea is neither homogeneous nor locked into an abstemious order.
—E. Tammy Kim, The New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2022
See All Example Sentences for abstemious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abstemious
Adjective
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Quarantine by Jim Crace This 1997 novel follows Jesus during his 40-day ascetic retreat to a desert cave.—
Mia Barzilay Freund,
Vogue,
7 July 2025
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Martin lived an ascetic and solitary life, and often denounced overly cerebral art.—
Melissa Febos,
The Atlantic,
9 June 2025
Adjective
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Those individuals experienced up to an 8 percent additional drop in kidney function each year compared with those living in temperate climates.—
Nora Bradford,
Scientific American,
29 July 2025
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The list includes places like Malta, a five-island nation with terrific beaches, a temperate climate and low crime, and Belize, the only Central American country with English as its official language.—
Danielle Chemtob,
Forbes.com,
21 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Abstemious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abstemious. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.
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