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
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Recent Examples of self-denying
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-denying
Adjective
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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
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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
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His first term now looks practically abstemious.—
Erin Neil,
New Yorker,
21 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
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
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Kelp fringes nearly a third of the planet’s coastlines and is an iconic feature of temperate waters, from California and Chile to Norway, Japan, and Australia.—
Tatjana Baleta,
Time,
28 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Self-denying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-denying. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
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