abstinence

noun

1)

AA endorses a path of abstinence

Syn:

teetotalism, temperance, sobriety, abstemiousness, abstention; rare nephalism

2)

of course abstinence is the most effective form of birth control, but is it the most realistic?

Syn:

celibacy, chastity, virginity, self-restraint, self-denial

Ant:

promiscuity

3)

three days of abstinence from solid food

Syn:

refraining from, desisting from, holding back from, withholding; renunciation of, refusal of, declining, avoidance of, eschewal of, abjuration of; forgoing, shunning, going without, doing without

Ant:

indulgence

••

abstinence, abnegation, abstemiousness, continence, forbearance, moderation, temperance

Abstinence implies voluntary self-denial and is usually associated with the non-indulgence of an appetite (total abstinence from cigarettes and alcohol). Abstemiousness is the quality or habit of being abstinent; an abstemious person would be one who is moderate when it comes to eating and drinking. Continence, temperance, and moderation all imply various forms of self-restraint or self-denial: moderation is the avoidance of extremes or excesses (he drank in moderation); temperance is habitual moderation, or even total abstinence, particularly with regard to alcohol (the nineteenth-century temperance movement); and continence (in this regard) refers to self-restraint with regard to sexual activity. Forbearance is self-control, the patient endurance that characterizes deliberately holding back from action or response. Abnegation is the rejection or renunciation of something that is generally held in high esteem (abnegation of the Christian Church), although it can also mean to refuse or deny oneself a particular right, claim, or convenience (abnegation of worldly goods).