| Learning / English Dictionary |
ABSTINENCE
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Act or practice of refraining from indulging an appetite
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("abstinence" is a kind of...):
self-control; self-denial; self-discipline (the act of denying yourself; controlling your impulses)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "abstinence"):
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 third 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)
Derivation:
abstinent (self-restraining; not indulging an appetite especially for food or drink)
Sense 2
Meaning:
The trait of abstaining (especially from alcohol)
Synonyms:
abstention; abstinence
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("abstinence" is a kind of...):
self-denial; self-discipline (the trait of practicing self discipline)
Derivation:
abstain (choose not to consume)
abstinent (self-restraining; not indulging an appetite especially for food or drink)
