temperance
Americannoun
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moderation or self-restraint in action, statement, etc.; self-control.
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habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion, especially in the use of alcoholic liquors.
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total abstinence from alcoholic liquors.
noun
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restraint or moderation, esp in yielding to one's appetites or desires
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abstinence from alcoholic drink
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of temperance
1200–50; Middle English temperaunce < Anglo-French < Latin temperantia self-control. See temper, -ance
Explanation
Temperance means restraint and moderation, but if you're talking about alcohol, temperance means not just drinking in moderation, it means not having it at all. The temperance movement appeared in the U.S. in the 19th century, at first urging moderation in drinking but eventually seeking to outlaw alcohol entirely. It managed to get Prohibition enacted in 1919, which did outlaw alcohol, but it was repealed in 1933. Temperance doesn't just have to do with alcohol, it can refer to avoiding any kind of excess: if your new diet requires temperance, you're eating in a balanced, sensible way. Temperance comes from the Latin temperare, "restrain."
Vocabulary lists containing temperance
The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
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Born a Crime
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Had there been a simple spelling mistake, the last executed witches in England would in fact be the Bideford Three - Temperance Lloyd, Susannah Edwards and Mary Trembles - in 1682.
From BBC • Oct. 31, 2024
Thus, the movement led by the Women’s Christian Temperance Union and the Anti-Saloon League made theirs a moral crusade for a humane cause.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 6, 2022
The woman, Tracy Douglas, 59, of Temperance, Michigan, filed a civil rights complaint with the FBI, according to her attorney.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 6, 2022
Temperance was the cause that most energized Cogswell, and it is for his role as a “fountaineer” that he is most remembered today.
From Washington Post • Aug. 27, 2022
“All that is needed to produce a complete Temperance and Social reform in this age of Moral Suasion, is for our Sex to cast their United influences into the balance,” she wrote for her speech.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
