ISEE/SSAT Vocabulary BuilderWordsAabstemious
ISEE/SSAThard
abstemious
Meaning: not self-indulgent, especially in food and drink
abstemious in a sentence
How abstemious is used in real sentences:
His abstemious diet excluded both sugar and meat.
His abstemious diet kept him fit at sixty.
“During overnight testing, Chen was abstemious at the team's snack table, keeping coffee and celebration modest so fatigue would not blur her readings.”
— from the passage The Returning Hinge
“At seventy-two, retired judge Elena Voss kept an abstemious routine: plain oatmeal, one cup of tea, and no wine even when guests urged celebration.”
— from the passage The Weight of Fifteen Years
“Though the platters sagged beneath roast duck and sugared pears, he remained abstemious, accepting only broth and refusing wine.”
— from the passage The Empty Chair
Synonyms for abstemious
Other words for abstemious — temperate, moderate and restrained — carry the same meaning.
Antonyms of abstemious
Words that mean the opposite of abstemious:
- self-indulgent
- intemperate
Where it comes from
From Latin abstemius 'sober'
Memory hook
ABSTEMIOUS — ABS-stay from indulgence.
Practice abstemious in the app