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
Slap-bang in the middle of a month that is all about freezing drizzle and self-denial, the third Monday in January is notoriously the gloomiest day of the year.
From BBC ● Jan. 18, 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
Instructed by the eldest of the Samanas, Siddhartha practiced self-denial and meditation according to the Samana rules.
From "Siddhartha" by Hermann Hesse
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.
