temperance

Syllables: tem·per·ance/ˈtɛmpəɹəns/

temperance noun: habitual moderation in regard to the indulgence of the natural appetites and passions; restrained or moderate indulgence.

Noun

temperance (countable and uncountable, plural temperances)

Habitual moderation in regard to the indulgence of the natural appetites and passions; restrained or moderate indulgence.
- temperance in eating and drinking
- temperance in the indulgence of joy
Moderation, and sometimes abstinence, in respect to using intoxicating liquors.
- Another error, as it seems to me, into which the old reformers fell, was the position that all habitual drunkards were utterly incorrigible, and therefore must be turned adrift and damned without remedy in order that the grace of temperance might abound, to the temperate then, and to all mankind...1842 February 22, Abraham Lincoln, “Address Before the Springfield Washingtonian Temperance Society”, in Arthur Brooks Lapsley, editor, The Papers and Writings of Abraham Lincoln
- So now the frauds reckoned they was out of danger, and they begun to work the villages again. ¶ First they done a lecture on temperance; but they didn't make enough for them both to get drunk on.1884 December 10, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], chapter XXXI, in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: (Tom Sawyer’s Comrade) […], London: Chatto & Windus, […], →OCLC, page 314
Moderation of passion; calmness.
- […] in the verie Torrent, Tempeſt, and (as I may ſay) the Whirle-winde of Paſſion, you muſt acquire and beget a Temperance that may giue it Smoothneſſe.c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac...
- Enough, you stand a traitor by my hearth, / And yet I draw not! Sir, I cannot pledge / This temperance long; the path of safety’s there.1849, [John] Westland Marston, “Strathmore”, in The Dramatic and Poetical Works of Westland Marston, volume I, London: Chatto & Windus, published 1876, act I, scene ii, page 10
Synonyms:

patience, calmness, sedateness
(obsolete) State with regard to heat or cold; temperature.
- It [the climate] must needs be of subtle, tender, and delicate temperance.1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published...

Proper noun capitalized: Temperance

Temperance

A female given name from English.
The fourteenth trump or major arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks.

temperance meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Bengali and Telugu

temperance in Tamil

மிதம், இச்சையடக்கம், அவாவொடுக்கம், உணர்ச்சி, சிந்தனை, செயல் போன்றவற்றில் நடுமைய செயல்பாடு

temperance in Bengali

temperance, abstinence: মিতাচার mitacar

temperance in Telugu

నిగ్రహం

More languagesFewer languages

temperance in Malayalam: മിതത്വം, അടക്കം, ആത്മസംയമനം
temperance in Kannada: ಹಾಳಿತ, ಹದವರಿಕೆ, ತನ್ನರಿಕೆ, ಆತ್ಮಸಂಯಮ
temperance in Sanskrit: दम dáma

Examples of temperance in a sentence

Who did begin their Feaſtes with Prayers; continue them with Temperance, and Sobrietie; eating no more then would ſuffice their hunger; drinking no more then would quench and ſatisfie their thirſt […]1628, William Prynne, Healthes Sicknesse. Or, a compendious and briefe Discourse; prouing the Drinking, and Pledging of Healthes, to be...
But there was no one to shake Nero into temperance.2007, Susan Wise Bauer, “The Problem of Succession”, in The History of the Ancient World, New York: W. W. Norton & Company, page 729:
Public-houses, besides their usual exhortation against temperance reform, invited men to “Join our Christmas goose club”—one bottle of gin, etc., or two, according to subscription.1908–1910 (date written; published 1910 October 18), E[dward] M[organ] Forster, “Christmas Shopping”, in Howards End, 1st American edition...

All 13 example sentences with temperance

Synonyms of temperance

Antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of temperance

Forms of temperance

plural	temperances
alternative form (obsolete)	temperaunce

Origin of temperance

From Anglo-Norman temperance, from Latin temperantia (“moderation, sobriety, discretion, self-control”), from temperans, present participle of temperare (“to moderate”). See temper. English equivalent temper + -ance.

From temperance. A virtue name first used by Puritans in the 16th century.

Words formed from temperance

American Temperance Society
antitemperance
Loyal Temperance Legion
temperance association
temperance bar
temperance beverage
temperance chartism
temperance chartist
Temperance Colonization Society
temperance colony
temperance education
temperance group
temperance hotel
temperance journal
temperance lobby
temperance magazine
temperance meeting
temperance movement
temperance movement zealot
temperance norm
temperance organisation
temperance organization
temperance paper
temperance play
temperance pledge
temperance reading room
temperance society
temperance writer
Toronto Temperance Society
Woman's Christian Temperance Union
Youth Temperance Council

Phrases with temperance

Questions about temperance

What does temperance mean?: Temperance means habitual moderation in regard to the indulgence of the natural appetites and passions; restrained or moderate indulgence.
What is temperance in Tamil?: Temperance in Tamil is மிதம், இச்சையடக்கம், அவாவொடுக்கம். See Temperance meaning in Tamil.
How do you use temperance in a sentence?: Who did begin their Feaſtes with Prayers; continue them with Temperance, and Sobrietie; eating no more then would ſuffice their hunger; drinking no more then would quench and ſatisfie their thirſt […]
What part of speech is temperance?: Temperance can be a noun or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce temperance?: Temperance is pronounced /ˈtɛmpəɹəns/.
What is the plural of temperance?: The plural of temperance is temperances.

Words near temperance in the dictionary

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-temperance.wav.

Cite this entry: “temperance.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/temperance. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.