self-abnegation
- noun
- /ˌsɛlfˌæbnɪˈɡeɪʃən/
- Her self-abnegation was evident when she gave up her promotion to support a colleague's career advancement.
Examples
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Good leaders often engage in self-abnegation, prioritizing the needs of their team over their own desires.
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Olive's marriage to Harold rewards her for years of self-abnegation.
Academic text (2007) -
But she matches her "husband's vast egotism" with self-abnegation.
Academic text (1996) -
Civil war, in which the force of naked coercion is hardly effective, demands of its participants the spirit of supreme self-abnegation.
Blog text (28) -
According to maternal ideology, "good" mothers engage in acts of self-sacrifice and self-abnegation, always putting the interests of their children before their own.
Academic text (2005) -
EHEs help people learn to let go of their egos, not because self-abnegation is good, but because the larger self that takes the ego's place is filled with calm, peace, joy, laughter, wonder, and delight.
Academic text (1995) -
They showed self-abnegation and saved their brothers, the slaves—who materially suffered more than they did—at the same time saving their enlightened consciences.
Academic text (2001) -
To fetter freedom, Sun declares self-abnegation a virtue, calling for individuals to eliminate all thoughts, habits, and actions not in accordance with compassion for others (ren) and correct principles (yi).
Academic text (2007) -
Acts of self-abnegation can strengthen relationships, as individuals sacrifice their own comfort for the happiness of others.
Synonyms
To care more about other people's needs than your own
Giving up your own comfort and needs to help other people
Choosing not to have something you want for moral, religious, or unselfish reasons
Giving up your own needs or comforts for others
To give up your comfort to help other people
Giving up your own wants and needs to help other people
Antonyms
How Self-Denying
Surface Forms
Morphology
self-abnegation = self + abnegation (transparent) = self + abnegation
The compound 'self' + 'abnegation' directly denotes denial or renunciation of one's own interests, which follows a straightforward compositional logic.
Etymology
The word self-abnegation comes from self- and abnegation, and abnegation comes from the Latin root negare meaning 'to deny' with ab- meaning 'away'. So self-abnegation literally means 'denying yourself', which explains why it means giving up your own needs or wants for others.