self-abnegating
- adjective
- /ˌsɛlfˈæb.nɪˌɡeɪ.tɪŋ/
:
auto-abnegante
- Her self-abnegating attitude often leads her to help friends at the expense of her own happiness.
Examples
-
But it is the man's apparently self-abnegating personality that holds the key to the case.
Fiction book (2000) -
To be self-abnegating is to preclude the possibility of being authentically compassionate.
Blog text (2) -
"She told me Mexican women were the most self-abnegating in the world.
Fiction book (1992) -
If the reason why Carter freed his slaves remains a mystery, it remains a mystery of character, the kind we routinely face when we try to explain why anyone who should be fully invested in the status quo instead commits an act of radical and self-abnegating good.
Academic text (2001) -
It was the first time the word had been pronounced, and to think it was Elisa who had pronounced it - devout, all-suffering, self-abnegating Elisa!
Fiction book (1996) -
These included such traditional representations as that of the self-abnegating revolutionary mother/compañera, as well as new images such as that of the New Woman as guerrilla fighter and activist, also often represented as mothers.
Academic text (2003) -
Many heroes are self-abnegating, putting the needs of others before their own.
-
The self-abnegating nature of his decisions made him well-respected among his colleagues.
Synonyms
5
5.5
Ready to give up your own needs to help others
1
7.0
Ready to put other people's needs before your own
Giving up personal pleasures and comforts for a simple life
Giving up comfort and possessions for moral or religious reasons
Antonyms
How Self-Denying
Surface Forms
Morphology
self-abnegating = self-abnegate (semi-transparent) = self + abnegate + ing
The suffix '-ing' forms the adjective from the verb 'self-abnegate', but the overall meaning might not be immediately clear to all learners.
Etymology
The word self-abnegating comes from self- meaning 'oneself' and the Latin abnegare (seen in abnegate) meaning 'to deny' or 'say no to'. So a self-abnegating person 'denies' their own needs and often puts others first.