as in ascetic
given to or marked by restraint in the satisfaction of one's appetites
obviously not for the self-abnegating vacationer, this luxury resort is for those whose budgets and appetites know no limit
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Recent Examples of self-abnegating
One of the West’s most glaring vulnerabilities to the influence of Russia—and China and Iran—is Hungary’s self-abnegating obeisance to those countries.
—
Mitch McConnell, Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2024
The president was characteristically decent and self-abnegating in his remarks.
—Lili Loofbourow, Washington Post, 25 July 2024
Mitch McConnell, Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2024
The president was characteristically decent and self-abnegating in his remarks.
—Lili Loofbourow, Washington Post, 25 July 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-abnegating
Adjective
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How can a kindly, God-fearing, and ascetic novice monk compete against that?—
Karl Ove Knausgaard,
New Yorker,
21 Oct. 2025
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In fact, the ascetic value of fasting from meat required that the person otherwise enjoy it.—
Livia Gershon,
JSTOR Daily,
4 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Some have evolved exceedingly specific diets—diets that would put even the most abstemious human to shame.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes,
12 Mar. 2025
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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
Adjective
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This simple tank since it can be worn on its own to keep you temperate during toasty flights, and it’s made with the brand’s DreamKnit Fabric that results in an unbelievably soft finish.—
Merrell Readman,
Travel + Leisure,
6 Nov. 2025
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Research, however, has tended to focus on temperate lakesrather than those in the tropics, despite their huge vulnerability to intense warming.—
Laura Paddison,
CNN Money,
6 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Self-abnegating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-abnegating. Accessed 15 Nov. 2025.
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