Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Of, relating to, or practicing complete abstinence from alcoholic beverages.
- adjective Total; absolute.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Total; complete; entire: used emphatically.
- Of, pertaining to, or for the promotion of total abstinence from intoxicating liquors: as, a teetotal society, meeting, or pledge; the teetotal cause.
- Pledged to total abstinence from intoxicating liquors.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective colloq. Entire; total.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective
Abstinent fromalcohol , neverdrinking alcohol . - adjective Opposed to the drinking of alcohol.
- adjective
Total .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective practicing complete abstinence from alcoholic beverages
- verb practice teetotalism and abstain from the consumption of alcoholic beverages
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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He was an habitual drunkard, his greatest boast being that he had once been "teetotal" for
From John O'Groats to Land's End Robert Naylor
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In was not until 1832 that at Preston under the advocacy of Joseph Livesay total abstainers first appeared, and the word "teetotal", applied to abstinence, came into general use.
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 14: Simony-Tournon 1840-1916 1913
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Warpington, eleven according to the Loftus Arms, from which it issued, the owner of which was not on happy terms with his "teetotal" vicar.
Red Pottage Mary Cholmondeley 1892
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The attempt to combine the friends of temperance on a basis of "teetotal" abstinence, putting fermented as well as distilled liquors under the ban, dates from as late as 1836.
A History of American Christianity Leonard Woolsey Bacon 1868
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Livesey started a popular temperance movement, attracting followers including John Turner, who coined the phrase "teetotal".
Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph online, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph 2011
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The worms, as video footage shows, also became overactive in alcohol withdrawal and showed spontaneous and deep body bends - a behaviour rarely seen in 'teetotal' worms.
Gaea Times (by Simple Thoughts) Breaking News and incisive views 24/7 2010
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Remember – the teetotal and the pregnant can be utilised as booze mules.
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Harrington is famously teetotal, never having let a drop of alcohol cross his lips, so it can assumed he was speaking from the heart.
US Open 2011: Remarkable Rory McIlroy wins by eight shots 2011
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If Hazare himself has studiously avoided any political statements, his vision of an India of teetotal, vegetarian rural communities is, despite its roots in Gandhi's vision of rural-based development, a conservative one that appeals to India's right wing.
Anna Hazare: the divisive face of a new India | profile 2011
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Remember – the teetotal and the pregnant can be utilised as booze mules.
Prolagus commented on the word teetotal
I have never heard this word in a conversation, except from non-native speakers.
December 8, 2010