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
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 It managed to get Prohibition enacted in 1919, which did outlaw alcohol, but it was repealed in 1933.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.
Mr. Okrent has an eye for the era’s characters, from relentless temperance crusaders to slick bootleggers and local citizens who regarded the complicated legal regime of prohibition as a novel business opportunity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
Anna Marshall, author of The Little Book of Christmas and Hogmanay, links it to a reaction against the temperance movement in the early 1800s.
From BBC ● Dec. 29, 2025
Early Free Methodists were active in the temperance and abolitionist movements.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 22, 2024
Our affect becomes less impacted by the precarity of external events and instead, we can concentrate on cultivating certain virtues like wisdom, courage, justice and temperance.
From Salon ● Jan. 30, 2024
Many of these women were already involved in the temperance movement—the campaign to rid the nation of intoxicating liquor—which would also culminate in 1919.
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
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.
