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
Europe’s temperance movement One trend where Asahi expects Europeans to follow Japan is in a movement towards temperance.
—
Byryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 1 Oct. 2024
By the 1820s and 1830s, temperance groups sprang up all across Arkansas and the General Assembly passed several laws and regulations to curb its sale.
—Arkansas Online, 10 May 2025
This memoir is a record of a life spent prioritizing adventure over prudence, indulgence over temperance.
—The Atlantic, 15 May 2025
He’s now deemed heroic in adhering to the Seven Virtues -- faith, hope, charity, prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance.
—Brian T. Allen, National Review, 24 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for temperance
Byryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 1 Oct. 2024
By the 1820s and 1830s, temperance groups sprang up all across Arkansas and the General Assembly passed several laws and regulations to curb its sale.
—Arkansas Online, 10 May 2025
This memoir is a record of a life spent prioritizing adventure over prudence, indulgence over temperance.
—The Atlantic, 15 May 2025
He’s now deemed heroic in adhering to the Seven Virtues -- faith, hope, charity, prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance.
—Brian T. Allen, National Review, 24 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for temperance
Recent Examples of Synonyms for temperance
Noun
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Studies show people with high novelty-seeking scores are more likely to start substance use and more likely to relapse after abstinence.—
Dr. Diane Hamilton,
Forbes.com,
1 July 2025
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California is not being accused of failing to carry out the abstinence and contraception message.—
Howard Blume,
Los Angeles Times,
24 June 2025
Noun
-
My husband spent about 10 years in the throes of an addiction to street drugs, with periods of sobriety sometimes lasting more than eight months.—
R. Eric Thomas,
Chicago Tribune,
25 June 2025
-
Dane, too, has been open about his journey to sobriety over the years.—
Lauren Huff Published,
EW.com,
24 June 2025
Noun
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But the promise of fiscal discipline has become a straightjacket.—
Oliver Eagleton,
Time,
5 July 2025
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Our options are to chase growth and tolerate inflation siphoning away most of the progress, impose austerity and trigger a populist backlash, or adopt a neutral monetary protocol and accept the discipline that comes with it.—
Dave Birnbaum,
Forbes.com,
4 July 2025
Noun
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Shams Charania’s debut as part of ESPN’s NBA Draft coverage last week doubled as a herculean exercise in restraint.—
Peter A. Berry,
Rolling Stone,
29 June 2025
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Most were secular, or observed religion privately and with restraint.—
Kian Tajbakhsh,
The Atlantic,
27 June 2025
Noun
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This includes the five major types: stress incontinence, urge incontinence, mixed incontinence, overflow incontinence, and functional continence.—
Jamin Brahmbhatt,
Verywell Health,
29 July 2024
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Good posture helps maintain continence, support pelvic organs, and reduce back pain.—
Staci Tanouye,
Parents,
29 Aug. 2023
Noun
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But the biblical term for self-denial – inui – has another meaning.—
Rabbi Avi Weiss,
Sun Sentinel,
7 Oct. 2024
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The Ford Focus Electric, with its appealing, Euro-hatchback lines, lacks the frumpy feel of self-denial often associated with electric cars.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
28 Mar. 2012
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.—
Jordan Kisner,
The Atlantic,
4 Apr. 2025
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The audience responds gratefully to this level of self-abnegation, and the frankly chilling sounds that come out of her.—
Helen Shaw,
The New Yorker,
25 Oct. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Temperance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/temperance. Accessed 9 Jul. 2025.
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