abstemious

/æbˈstimiəs/

Reserve abstemious for someone who exercises restraint, especially with regard to alcohol. A rock musician may sing about enjoying wine and women, but in his private life he may be abstemious.

You might get the idea that abstemious is a relative of abstain with a change of consonant, but in fact the two words only share the abs- prefix, meaning "away." The -temious bit in this adjective is from Latin temetum, "intoxicating drink," so it came to refer to someone who keeps alcohol (or other temptations) at arm's length. This word has the vowels a, e, i, o and u in alphabetical order; the adverb abstemiously adds the y!

Definitions of abstemious

1. adjective

   marked by temperance in indulgence
   “abstemious with the use of adverbs”

   synonyms: light

   temperate

   not extreme in behavior
2. adjective

   sparing in consumption of especially food and drink
   “"the pleasures of the table, never of much consequence to one naturally abstemious"- John Galsworthy”

   synonyms:

   abstentious, abstinent

   self-restraining; not indulging an appetite especially for food or drink

   ascetic, ascetical, austere, spartan

   practicing great self-denial

   nonindulgent, strict

   characterized by strictness, severity, or restraint

   antonyms:

   gluttonous

   given to excess in consumption of especially food or drink

   crapulous

   given to gross intemperance in eating or drinking

   crapulent, crapulous

   suffering from excessive eating or drinking

   edacious, esurient, rapacious, ravening, ravenous, voracious, wolfish

   devouring or craving food in great quantities

   greedy

   wanting to eat or drink more than one can reasonably consume

   hoggish, piggish, piggy, porcine, swinish

   resembling swine; coarsely gluttonous or greedy

   overgreedy, too-greedy

   excessively gluttonous

   indulgent

   characterized by or given to yielding to the wishes of someone