ab·ste·mi·ous

[ab-stee-mee-uhs]
adjective
1.
sparing or moderate in eating and drinking; temperate in diet.
2.
characterized by abstinence: an abstemious life.
3.
sparing: an abstemious diet.

Origin:
1615–25; < Latin abstēmius, equivalent to abs- abs- + tēm- (base of tēmētum intoxicating drink) + -ius -ious

ab·ste·mi·ous·ly, adverb
ab·ste·mi·ous·ness, noun
non·ab·ste·mi·ous, adjective
non·ab·ste·mi·ous·ly, adverb
non·ab·ste·mi·ous·ness, noun
o·ver·ab·ste·mi·ous, adjective
o·ver·ab·ste·mi·ous·ly, adverb
o·ver·ab·ste·mi·ous·ness, noun
un·ab·ste·mi·ous, adjective
un·ab·ste·mi·ous·ly, adverb
un·ab·ste·mi·ous·ness, noun


ascetic, abstinent, temperate, nonindulgent.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To abstemious
00:10
Abstemious is an SAT word you need to know.
So is guise. Does it mean:
of or pertaining to the side; situated at, proceeding from, or directed to a side:
general external appearance; aspect; semblance:
Collins
World English Dictionary
abstemious (əbˈstiːmɪəs) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj
moderate or sparing, esp in the consumption of alcohol or food; temperate
 
[C17: from Latin abstēmius, from abs-ab-1 + tēm-, from tēmētum intoxicating drink]
 
ab'stemiously
 
adv
 
ab'stemiousness
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

abstemious
c.1600, from L. abstemius "sober, temperate," from ab(s)- "from" + stem of temetum "strong drink," related to temulentus "drunken." Technically, of liquor, but extended in Latin to temperance in living generally.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Example sentences
If he had known this would happen, he said, he would have lived a less
  abstemious life.
It is one of the ways the government hopes to lure tourists from the rest of
  the generally abstemious region.
Smokers tend to die younger than do their abstemious peers, by nearly a decade.
But the candidate is boringly abstemious — and reporters traveling with
  him find him aloof.
Related Words
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT