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 Words From

• anti·temper·ance 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

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.

From Salon

Had there been a simple spelling mistake, the last executed witches in England would in fact be the Bideford Three - Temperance Lloyd, Susannah Edwards and Mary Trembles - in 1682.

From BBC

Moral discipline, humble virtue and indeed, a trust resting solely on the “inner beard” need not have applied only to priests and monks, but also to kings like Louis IX of France, whose piety, temperance, justice and zeal against heathens and heretics earned him the distinction of sainthood.

From Salon

Behind some hoarding erected in the 1970s workers found a former Lockhart's Cocoa Rooms - a chain of businesses similar to modern-day coffee shops created as part of the Victorian temperance movement to encourage people to drink less alcohol.

From BBC

Early Free Methodists were active in the temperance and abolitionist movements.

From Seattle Times