temperance

[tem-per-uhns, tem-pruhns]

noun

1. moderation or self-restraint in action, statement, etc.; self-control.

2. habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion, especially in the use of alcoholic liquors.

3. total abstinence from alcoholic liquors.

temperance

/ ˈtɛmpərəns /

noun

1. restraint or moderation, esp in yielding to one's appetites or desires

2. abstinence from alcoholic drink

Other Word Forms

• antitemperance adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of temperance¹

1200–50; Middle English temperaunce < Anglo-French < Latin temperantia self-control. See temper, -ance

Word History and Origins

Origin of temperance¹

C14: from Latin temperantia, from temperāre to regulate

Example Sentences

Beloved in colonial America, hard cider lost favor in the mid-19th century as crisp lagers ascended; the temperance movement and Prohibition felled cider-apple trees.

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A Jewish homeland in backwaters of the Ottoman empire seemed unattainable, and pressing domestic concerns like slavery and temperance took precedence.

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Mr. Patten, as implied, is sober to the point of temperance.

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Some temperance is overdue in the AI space.

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They recognized actual social change as extending beyond the idea of temperance, which they saw as a necessary but insufficient condition for improving the U.S. social order during the mid-19th century.

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