self-abnegation

American  

[self-ab-ni-gey-shuhn] / ˈsɛlfˌæb nɪˈgeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. self-denial or self-sacrifice.

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self-abnegation British  

noun

1. the denial of one's own interests in favour of the interests of others

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Other Word Forms

• self-abnegating adjective

Etymology

Origin of self-abnegation

First recorded in 1650–60

Example Sentences

The life that Alharthi describes is one of almost saintly self-abnegation.

From Washington Post

To make his self-abnegation flesh, Spivey is surrounded — and serially haunted — by six sensational actors who play Usher’s “Thoughts.”

From Washington Post

Perhaps that is an ordinary situation most mothers would recognize, but I was so immature and unformed that I experienced that acute fear of self-abnegation as if it were the entire meaning of motherhood itself.

From New York Times

But whatever it is that propelled Johns down the path of self-abnegation, the denial was never absolute or complete.

From Washington Post

What is this ecstasy of self-abnegation, what are its costs?

From New York Times

Related Words

• disavowal
• repudiation