temperance

/ˈtɛmpərəns/

/ˈtɛmprɪnts/

Other forms: temperances

Temperance means restraint and moderation, but if you're talking about alcohol, temperance means not just drinking in moderation, it means not having it at all.

The temperance movement appeared in the U.S. in the 19th century, at first urging moderation in drinking but eventually seeking to outlaw alcohol entirely. It managed to get Prohibition enacted in 1919, which did outlaw alcohol, but it was repealed in 1933. Temperance doesn't just have to do with alcohol, it can refer to avoiding any kind of excess: if your new diet requires temperance, you're eating in a balanced, sensible way. Temperance comes from the Latin temperare, "restrain."

Definitions of temperance

1. noun

   the trait of avoiding excesses
   synonyms: moderation

   antonyms:

   intemperance

   the quality of being intemperate

   types:

   dryness, sobriety

   moderation in or abstinence from alcohol or other drugs

   abstemiousness

   moderation in eating and drinking

   type of:

   natural virtue

   (scholasticism) one of the four virtues (prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance) derived from nature

   control, restraint

   discipline in personal and social activities
2. noun

   abstaining from excess
   synonyms: sobriety

   type of:

   abstinence

   act or practice of refraining from indulging an appetite
3. noun

   the act of tempering
   type of:

   combination, combining, compounding

   the act of combining things to form a new whole