self-denial
Americannoun
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the sacrifice of one's own desires; unselfishness.
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an act or instance of restraining or curbing one's desires.
To reduce, one has to practice self-denial at the dinner table.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of self-denial
First recorded in 1635–45
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.
But I didn’t want to “surrender” to anything, nor to spend my whole life making amends and walking a path of eternal deprivation and self-denial like I saw in popular recovery communities.
From Slate ● Feb. 15, 2026
So the question facing him was whether another four-year cycle of discipline and self-denial was worth it for the chance to bridge that blink of an eye.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2025
Or they might miss out on joyous experiences by living in constant self-denial.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 24, 2025
Shannon is baffled by her self-denial, but Hannah has attained an understanding of home not as a physical place but as a spiritual bulwark, born out of love and patient respect.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2025
Jefferson’s nearly Herculean powers of self-denial also helped keep the cause pure, at least in the privacy of his own mind.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
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.
