1
as in temperateness
an avoidance of extremes in one's actions, beliefs, or habits
my father attributes his ripe old age to temperance in all things, especially eating and drinking
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in abstinence
voluntary restraint in the satisfaction of one's appetites
practices a blue-blooded temperance that his parvenu neighbors will never understand
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of temperance
Then, strong reform and radical movements to abolish slavery and to advocate for world peace, temperance, and women’s suffrage flourished.
—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
6 Mar. 2026
The financial incentive for airports and airlines to serve alcohol precludes temperance as a solution.
—
Thomas Black,
Twin Cities,
21 Dec. 2025
Indiana is staunchly conservative, but its Republicans tend to foster a deliberate temperance.
—
Isabella Volmert,
Fortune,
26 Oct. 2025
The temperance movement, which aimed to reduce alcohol use, gained steam in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
—
Maggie Menderski,
Louisville Courier Journal,
16 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for temperance
Encyclopedia Britannica,
6 Mar. 2026
The financial incentive for airports and airlines to serve alcohol precludes temperance as a solution.
—
Thomas Black,
Twin Cities,
21 Dec. 2025
Indiana is staunchly conservative, but its Republicans tend to foster a deliberate temperance.
—
Isabella Volmert,
Fortune,
26 Oct. 2025
The temperance movement, which aimed to reduce alcohol use, gained steam in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
—
Maggie Menderski,
Louisville Courier Journal,
16 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for temperance
Recent Examples of Synonyms for temperance
Noun
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Strawberries are safe for dogs to eat in moderation.
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For centuries, wine—whether non-alcoholic or containing the natural alcohol created by yeast during grape fermentation—has been a beverage that helps connect people and places when consumed in moderation.
Noun
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What may be more important, according to Elton, is the psychological value of abstinence.
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Kennedy also used the opportunity to renew the administration’s attacks on harm reduction, strategies that aim to reduce death and disease among people using drugs without demanding instant abstinence.
Noun
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The conversation was no longer focused on accessibility as a discipline.
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These are professionals who have spent years working alongside some of the best filmmakers in the world and who bring an extraordinary level of expertise, discipline and problem solving to every production.
Noun
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As his tussles with grief and sobriety and heartbreak appear in flashes, so do red and blue police lights.
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The Elk Grove Police Department will hold a sobriety and driver’s license checkpoint at an undisclosed location Friday, the agency said in a news release.
Noun
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Cornelius Houston will face charges of burglary of a habitation with intent to commit other felony and unlawful restraint, according to Fort Worth jail records.
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Martin's family believes that the long paramedic response time, as well as restraint asphyxia caused by Oakland police officers, caused Martin's death.
Noun
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After the second session, the authors reported that the woman had even greater speech capabilities, more facial expressions and humor, increased walking agility and continued continence.
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The individual is unable to perform, without substantial assistance from another person, at least two of the six activities of daily living (eating, bathing, dressing, toileting, transferring, and continence), and the inability is expected to last for an indefinite period.
Noun
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Automatic contributions, delayed payment windows, small rituals that add friction to impulse spending — these are all behavioral architecture moves, not acts of self-denial.
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At the beginning of her relationship with John, Carolyn’s central problem was that being part of the Kennedy family demanded some level of self-denial.
Noun
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Her vocation requires the skill of transformation and self-abnegation, as well as a receptiveness to language and emotion not her own.
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The audience responds gratefully to this level of self-abnegation, and the frankly chilling sounds that come out of her.
Cite this Entry
“Temperance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/temperance. Accessed 29 Jun. 2026.
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