Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Abstinence from or moderation in drinking alcoholic beverages. synonym: abstinence.
- noun Moderation and self-restraint, as in behavior or expression.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Moderation; the observance of moderation; temperateness.
- noun Particularly— Habitual moderation in regard to the indulgence of the natural appetites and passions; restrained or moderate indulgence; abstinence from all violence or excess, from inordinate or unseasonable indulgence, or from the use or pursuit of anything injurious to moral or physical well-being; sobriety; frugality: as, temperance in eating and drinking; temperance in the indulgence of joy or grief; in a narrower sense, moderation in the use of alcoholic liquors, as beverages; or, in a still narrower sense as used by its advocates, entire abstinence from such liquors: in this sense also used attributively; as, a temperance society; a temperance hotel; a temperance lecture.
- noun Moderation of passion; self-restraint; self-control; calmness.
- noun The act of tempering or mixing; temperament.
- noun Moderate degree of temperature; equal state.
- noun Temperature.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun Habitual moderation in regard to the indulgence of the natural appetites and passions; restrained or moderate indulgence; moderation; ; specifically, moderation, and sometimes abstinence, in respect to using intoxicating liquors.
- noun rare Moderation of passion; patience; calmness; sedateness.
- noun obsolete State with regard to heat or cold; temperature.
- noun an association formed for the purpose of diminishing or stopping the use of alcoholic liquors as a beverage.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun
Habitual moderation in regard to theindulgence of thenatural appetites andpassions ;restrained ormoderate indulgence; moderation; as, temperance in eating and drinking; temperance in the indulgence of joy or mirth; specifically, moderation, and sometimesabstinence , in respect to usingintoxicating liquors . - noun
Moderation ofpassion ;patience ;calmness ;sedateness . - noun One of the
seven heavenly virtues . - noun obsolete State with regard to
heat orcold ;temperature . - noun tarot : temperance; the fourteenth
trump ormajor arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun abstaining from excess
- noun the trait of avoiding excesses
- noun the act of tempering
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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It is as though you were to take a man into a cellar where there was a vast collection of what we call temperance drinks, and what the Americans call soft drinks.
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Murrin laughed at my use of the word temperance, but then he peered at me, trying to see if I was serious or not since I didn't smile or join him in laughter, but my sunglasses hid my eyes, so he wasn't sure.
Wake Up, Sir! Jonathan Ames 2004
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"Of these, then," he said, "are not they the most happy, and do they not go to the best place, who have practiced that social and civilized virtue which they call temperance and justice, and which is produced from habit and exercise, without philosophy and reflection?"
Apology, Crito, and Phaedo of Socrates 427? BC-347? BC Plato
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In this way, the previously taboo subject of domestic violence suddenly began appearing in temperance journals and publications.
'Trivial Complaints:' The Role of Privacy in Domestic Violence Law and Activism in the U.S. 2008
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As a man he is high-spirited and energetic, always ready to fight for his Sultan, his country and, especially, his Faith: courteous and affable, rarely failing in temperance of mind and self-respect, self-control and self-command: hospitable to the stranger, attached to his fellow citizens, submissive to superiors and kindly to inferiors — if such classes exist: Eastern despotisms have arrived nearer the idea of equality and fraternity than any republic yet invented.
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I acknowledge my ignorance of the derivation of the word temperance, but I do know drunkenness comes from drinking intoxicating liquor, therefore I favor total-abstinence and recommend it as the safe side of life for young men.
Wit, Humor, Reason, Rhetoric, Prose, Poetry and Story Woven into Eight Popular Lectures George W. Bain
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The word temperance has, we repeat, become narrowed and specialized.
The True Citizen, How to Become One W. F. Markwick
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Pearl is an out and out believer in temperance and woman suffrage, and before she was through, she had every one with her – as one man put it, he'd like to see the women vote, if for nothing else than to get Pearl Watson into
Purple Springs 1921
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(The latter she calls a "prohibition lecture" -- hating the word temperance, as applied to drink.) She said words, such as had probably not been heard by most of those there, for a great many years.
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Speedily the State was aflame with disturbances in temperance and teachers 'conventions, and the press heralded the news far and near that women delegates had suddenly appeared, demanding admission in men's conventions; that their rights had been hotly contested session after session, by liberal men on the one side, the clergy and learned professors on the other; an overwhelming majority rejecting the women with terrible anathemas and denunciations.
mohitanand commented on the word temperance
noun: the trait of avoiding excesses
Welles wasn't known for his temperance--he usually ate enough for two and drank enough for three.
October 19, 2016