Meaning & use
abnegation
The act of denying oneself something desired, especially for moral, religious, or self-disciplined reasons.
See it in a sentence
The monk's life of abnegation included giving up meat, money, and personal comfort.
Her quiet abnegation meant she always let her siblings choose first.
A note on using this word
Abnegation is a formal, somewhat literary word; "self-denial" is the more common everyday equivalent.
Words with a similar meaning
self-denialrenunciation
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
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