teetotal

[ tee-toht-l, tee-toht-l ]
See synonyms for: teetotalteetotally on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. of or relating to, advocating, or pledged to total abstinence from intoxicating drink.

  2. Informal. absolute; complete.

verb (used without object),tee·to·taled, tee·to·tal·ing or (especially British) tee·to·talled, tee·to·tal·ling.
  1. to practice teetotalism.

Origin of teetotal

1
Reduplicated variant of total, coined by R. Turner, of Preston, England, in 1833, in a speech advocating total abstinence from alcoholic drinks

Other words from teetotal

  • tee·to·tal·ly, adverb

Words Nearby teetotal

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use teetotal in a sentence

  • The teetotal apostle says it is a dreadful thing to be drunk.

    The Romany Rye | George Borrow
  • They listened to some foolish women's cackle—teetotal cant, I call it—and refused me anything.

    Workhouse Characters | Margaret Wynne Nevinson
  • But' (regretfully) 'ye'll no' can get it here; an' a'm thinkin' a'll juist sign yon teetotal thing.'

    Black Rock | Ralph Connor
  • The teetotal attitude of mind and the quarrels it aroused very properly disgusted Kingsley.

    The Law and the Poor | Edward Abbott Parry
  • My poor wife runs teetotal salons in Chelsea on the strength of my name.

    Lady Lilith | Stephen McKenna

British Dictionary definitions for teetotal

teetotal

/ (tiːˈtəʊtəl) /


adjective
  1. of, relating to, or practising abstinence from alcoholic drink

  2. dialect complete

Origin of teetotal

1
C19: allegedly coined in 1833 by Richard Turner, English advocate of total abstinence from alcoholic liquors; probably from total, with emphatic reduplication

Derived forms of teetotal

  • teetotaller, noun
  • teetotally, adverb
  • teetotalism, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012