Synonyms of self-denying

self-denying

adjective

ˌself-di-ˈnī-iŋ 

as in ascetic

given to or marked by restraint in the satisfaction of one's appetites

found the self-denying life of the monks at the monastery unexpectedly appealing

Synonyms & Similar Words

• ascetic
• abstemious
• temperate
• abstinent
• self-abnegating
• continent
• sober
• abstentious
• austere
• disciplined
• self-disciplined
• self-controlled
• self-governed

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• greedy
• gluttonous
• voracious
• sensual
• rapacious
• hedonistic
• voluptuous
• self-indulgent
• sybaritic
• masturbatory
• onanistic
• self-pleasing
• voluptuary
• Cyrenaic

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of self-denying

Like Congress passing campaign-finance regulation actually is like a pretty self-denying thing Congress has done. — David Frum, The Atlantic, 3 June 2026

The tension between the self-denying demands of being a Kennedy wife and Carolyn’s assured self-determination sets the framework for this love story. — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 13 Feb. 2026

The thriving wineries of modern-day Australia would no doubt astonish those Lutheran pioneers, not to mention the self-denying John Muir — although they surely would be fascinated by how botany has been modernized and commercialized. — Tony Perrottet, Travel + Leisure, 25 June 2024

Director Olivier Py’s production, staged here by director Daniel Izzo, takes the blacks, grays and whites of the nun’s habit and turns them into a visual metaphor for self-denying modesty. — Joshua Kosman, San Francisco Chronicle, 16 Oct. 2022