abstinence

/ˈæbstənəns/

/ˈæbstənɪns/

Other forms: abstinences

If you are a chocolate lover, you'll have to show great restraint when the dessert cart rolls over if you are practicing abstinence, another word for "refraining." It might take a lot of willpower not to throw yourself at the cart.

Abstinence is the opposite of indulgence. People who practice abstinence deny themselves something, often something they really want. Regardless of whether people are abstaining from food, alcohol, or sex, they have to practice self-control. In fact, the word is derived from the Latin term for "to hold back." The word abstinence is often used in reference to sex education courses that teach kids to hold themselves back from having sex.

Definitions of abstinence

1. noun

   the trait of abstaining (especially from alcohol)
   synonyms: abstention

   type of:

   self-denial, self-discipline

   the trait of practicing self discipline
2. noun

   act or practice of refraining from indulging an appetite
   types:

   celibacy, chastity, sexual abstention

   abstaining from sexual relations (as because of religious vows)

   sobriety, temperance

   abstaining from excess

   teetotaling, teetotalism

   abstaining from alcohol

   fast, fasting

   abstaining from food

   inhibition, suppression

   (psychology) the conscious exclusion of unacceptable thoughts or desires

   sawm

   the fourth pillar of Islam is fasting (primarily during the month of Ramadan); Muslims abstain from food and drink and gambling and all sensuous pleasures from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan

   diet, dieting

   the act of restricting your food intake (or your intake of particular foods)

   hunger strike

   a voluntary fast undertaken as a means of protest

   Ramadan

   (Islam) a fast (held from sunrise to sunset) that is carried out during the Islamic month of Ramadan

   type of:

   self-control, self-denial, self-discipline

   the act of denying yourself; controlling your impulses