| English > English | |
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| abstinence | |
| 1. n. The act or practice of abstaining, refraining from indulging a desire or appetite. |  |
| Penance, fasts, and abstinence, / To punish bodies for the soul's offense. - John Dryden | |
| The abstinence from a present pleasure that offers itself is a pain, nay, oftentimes, a very great one. — John Locke | |
| Complete abstinence is easier than perfect moderation. — St Augustine | |
| 2. n. Specifically, the practice of abstaining from intoxicating/alcoholic beverages; total abstinence; teetotalism). | |
| 3. n. Specifically, the practice of abstaining from sexual intercourse, either permanently or until marriage. | |
| 4. n. (ecclesiastical) Abstention from certain foods on days of penitential observance. | |
| 5. n. The practice of self-denial; self-restraint; forebearance from anything. | |
| 6. n. (obsolete) Self-denial; abstaining; or forebearance of anything. | |
| 7. n. (business) Delay of spending to accrue capital. | |
