abstemious
/æbˈstiː.mɪ.əs/
abstemious means refraining from freely consuming food or strong drink; sparing in diet; abstinent, temperate.
abstemious is pronounced /æbˈstiː.mɪ.əs/.
Why “abstemious” is a great word
Refraining from freely consuming food or strong drink; characterized by moderation and self-restraint in indulgence. From Latin abstēmius ('abstaining from wine'), from ab, abs ('from, away from') + tēmētum ('intoxicating drink, wine'). Unlike 'temperate,' which suggests a general, habitual balance in all things, or 'abstinent,' which denotes a complete renunciation, abstemiousness is the precise calculus of enough—the guest nursing a single glass through the evening, the measured ounce of bread, the bare plate cleared without regret. It is a discipline found not in the thrill of denial, but in the profound peace of enough, where the truest pleasures are savored just shy of excess.
Etymology
From Latin abstēmius (“abstaining from wine”); from ab, abs (“from”) + tēmus, a root of tēmētum (“intoxicating drink, especially strong mead or wine”) (possibly from Proto-Indo-European *temH- (“dark (referring to the colour of wine)”)) + -ous.
adj
- Refraining from freely consuming food or strong drink; sparing in diet; abstinent, temperate.
- Sparing in the indulgence of the appetite or passions.e.g.“The Ms had an abstemious sex life; in fourteen years of marriage, they had had sex exactly six times. Mrs. M desired sex and more children, but her husband refused.”
- Sparingly used; used with temperance or moderation.
- Marked by, or spent in, abstinence.e.g.“an abstemious life”
- Promotive of abstemiousness.
Words closest in meaning
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