abstentious

Definition of abstentiousnext
as in ascetic
given to or marked by restraint in the satisfaction of one's appetites abstentious by nature, she eats only to satisfy actual hunger—never just for the sake of eating

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for abstentious
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
  • Lunchtimes are more abstemious with avocado and tuna packed poke bowls and watermelon salad at the W lounge.
    Jemima Sissons, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Jan. 2026
  • His first term now looks practically abstemious.
    Erin Neil, New Yorker, 21 Jan. 2026
Adjective
  • 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
  • At the end of six months, those who had taken just one dose of psilocybin had more than six times greater odds of being abstinent from cigarettes than their counterparts who relied on the nicotine substitute.
    Will Stone, NPR, 10 Mar. 2026
Adjective
  • Just under 300,000 years from the moment Homo sapiens appeared in Africa, the species had encircled Earth, mastering desolate deserts and frozen wastelands and all the temperate climes in between.
    Cody Cottier, Scientific American, 4 June 2026
  • The evolutionary solution, for most temperate insects, is to use the light signal as the primary trigger and treat temperature as a secondary modifier.
    John Drake, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Abstentious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abstentious. Accessed 11 Jun. 2026.

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