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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of self-denying
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
Tony Perrottet, Travel + Leisure, 25 June 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-denying
Adjective
-
In fact, the ascetic value of fasting from meat required that the person otherwise enjoy it.—
Livia Gershon,
JSTOR Daily,
4 Aug. 2025
-
Greens embodied the ascetic lushness of the farm-to-table movement, which, in Northern California, was synonymous with the Berkeley restaurant Chez Panisse.—
John Birdsall,
New Yorker,
25 July 2025
Adjective
-
Some have evolved exceedingly specific diets—diets that would put even the most abstemious human to shame.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes,
12 Mar. 2025
-
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
Cite this Entry
“Self-denying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-denying. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share