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🚫 Avoiding pleasures 🥤 A non-drinker
abstinent

abstinent

4 7.4
Avoiding things you enjoy, like food and drink, for discipline or religion
  • adjective
  • /ˈæbstəˌnənt/
translation icon : abstemia
  • The mean age for sexually active participants was 14.15 years, while the mean age for abstinent teens was 13.44.
  • abstinent alcoholics
  • sexually abstinent
  • abstinent teens

And sober and being completely abstinent, those, I think they are great tools from with which you can make massive change in your life.

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Examples

  • Hence, despite sobriety, abstinent alcoholics would still be socially perceived as unhappy people with no meaning in their lives.

    Academic text (2000)

  • We observed that a slightly greater number of abstinent teens live in two-parent households.

    Academic text (2005)

  • You know, be abstinent, go to meetings, talk to other people, get help.

  • In the present study, the abstinent AA members were happy.

    Academic text (2000)

  • Because we were concerned only with abstinent members, we eliminated 3 participants who reported consuming alcohol during this period.

    Academic text (2000)

  • She was abstinent in recovery for over six weeks and then she relapsed.

  • The nonalcoholic persons expressed more positive opinions about the abstinent alcoholic than about the non-abstinent alcoholic.

    Academic text (2000)

  • Many teenagers choose to remain abstinent during high school to focus on their studies.

  • Pledging to be abstinent can help individuals strengthen their self-discipline.

  • She decided to be abstinent for a year as part of her personal wellness journey.

Synonyms

abstemious
vsabstinent
  • Formal
1 9.9

Not eating or drinking much

is stricter, implying deliberate avoidance rather than moderate limits
abstentious
vsabstinent
  • Archaic
9.9

Choosing not to eat or drink much

is chosen deliberately often for self-discipline or religious reasons
nonindulgent
vsabstinent
8.9

Not letting people enjoy treats and comforts

focuses on personal deliberate avoidance, often motivated by discipline or religion

Antonyms

indulgent
36 6.1

Willing to let someone have what they want, even if it is not good for them

intemperate
  • Formal
5 8.8

Cannot control strong feelings or actions, often when drinking alcohol

How Restrained

ascetic
4 8.8
self-denying
1 7.0
abstinent
4 7.4
permissive
  • Jargon
14 4.9

Surface Forms

abstinent positive

Morphology

abstinent = abstain (transparent) = abstain + ent

Formed from the verb 'abstain' plus the adjectival suffix '-ent', so learners who know 'abstain' can infer the adjective meaning.

Etymology

The word abstinent comes from the Latin parts ab- 'away from' and tenere 'to hold' and shares the root with retain 'to keep', so it means 'to hold away'. Imagine holding your hand back from sweets; that is why an abstinent person stays away from certain foods or drinks on purpose.