1
as in alcoholism
habitual or excessive drinking of intoxicants
in his harangue on the perils of drink, the prohibitionist claimed that intemperance has always been the number one destroyer of marriages
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in excessiveness
a propensity for extremes in one's actions, beliefs, or habits
there's a wearisome intemperance in his verbal attacks against any and all who dare to disagree with him
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of intemperance
The power to issue absolute pardons, explicitly stipulated in the founding document, has been exploited with bipartisan intemperance.
—
Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
But in 1832, people believed cholera was linked to intemperance and vice, which were thought to weaken the body.
—William E. Watson, The Conversation, 1 Aug. 2025
Johnson was also a movement candidate, propelled into office by energized unions, frustrated progressives, and backlash from decades of police intemperance and economic inequality.
—Andy Shaw, Chicago Tribune, 21 July 2025
In a situation that forbids explicit expressions of intemperance or protest, mischief is the perfect solution.
—New York Times, 7 June 2022
Over a career that made headlines for landmark victories such as a six-figure judgment, later reversed, against LAPD Chief Daryl Gates, Yagman also became notorious for intemperance, most pointedly evidenced by his brutal characterization of a federal judge.
—Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2021
Her attention to the vibrancy of our inner lives and to the barbed pleasure of sentimental intemperance has lately become more explicit.
—Rachelvoronacote, Longreads, 10 Aug. 2020
The intemperance alienated some suffragists, and by 1875, when Anthony drafted the amendment that would bear her name, the movement had split.
—USA Today, 26 Feb. 2020
Acton, whose Catholicism shaped every facet of his thought and work, identified this excess with a certain kind of Protestant intemperance.
—Yuval Levin, National Review, 31 Dec. 2019
Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
But in 1832, people believed cholera was linked to intemperance and vice, which were thought to weaken the body.
—William E. Watson, The Conversation, 1 Aug. 2025
Johnson was also a movement candidate, propelled into office by energized unions, frustrated progressives, and backlash from decades of police intemperance and economic inequality.
—Andy Shaw, Chicago Tribune, 21 July 2025
In a situation that forbids explicit expressions of intemperance or protest, mischief is the perfect solution.
—New York Times, 7 June 2022
Over a career that made headlines for landmark victories such as a six-figure judgment, later reversed, against LAPD Chief Daryl Gates, Yagman also became notorious for intemperance, most pointedly evidenced by his brutal characterization of a federal judge.
—Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2021
Her attention to the vibrancy of our inner lives and to the barbed pleasure of sentimental intemperance has lately become more explicit.
—Rachelvoronacote, Longreads, 10 Aug. 2020
The intemperance alienated some suffragists, and by 1875, when Anthony drafted the amendment that would bear her name, the movement had split.
—USA Today, 26 Feb. 2020
Acton, whose Catholicism shaped every facet of his thought and work, identified this excess with a certain kind of Protestant intemperance.
—Yuval Levin, National Review, 31 Dec. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for intemperance
Noun
-
Knuckling under the pressure to do something about this, Congress eventually passed a law that essentially denied such benefits to anyone whose only disabling condition was drug addiction or alcoholism.—
Tom Margenau,
Dallas Morning News,
1 Mar. 2026
-
A lot of these soldiers have high divorce rates, high amounts of alcoholism and abuse of pharmaceuticals.—
William Earl,
Variety,
1 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Ellison acquired Weiss’s the Free Press, a centrist digital news site that often targets excesses of the political left and is staunchly pro-Israel.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Mar. 2026
-
Stomach-turning excesses by Immigration and Customs Enforcement have turned many Americans’ abstract political preference into something uncomfortably concrete.—
George F. Will,
Washington Post,
13 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Intemperance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/intemperance. Accessed 16 Mar. 2026.
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