self-abnegation
noun
self-ab·ne·ga·tion
ˌself-ˌab-ni-ˈgā-shən 
plural self-abnegations
: self-denial, self-sacrifice
… the notion that having a baby demands complete and total self-abnegation, and anything short of that is not enough.—
Jessi Klein
Jessi KleinExamples of self-abnegation in a Sentence
even after acquiring great wealth, he continued to practice a kind of puritanical self-abnegation
Recent Examples on the Web
Her vocation requires the skill of transformation and self-abnegation, as well as a receptiveness to language and emotion not her own.
—Jordan Kisner, The Atlantic, 4 Apr. 2025
The audience responds gratefully to this level of self-abnegation, and the frankly chilling sounds that come out of her.
—Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2024
Honoré recalls the dirt of a horny adolescent’s lust, the emotional confusion that twists desire for contact and intimacy into degradation, self-abnegation, and the longing for salvation — needs effaced by the title’s unclear American translation.
—Armond White, National Review, 5 May 2023
The tenacious resistance among many Democratic politicians to publicly challenge the court’s misdeeds stands as a spectacular act of self-abnegation.
—Simon Lazarus, The New Republic, 21 Apr. 2023
For the senior members of the order — two successive prioresses and the conflicted but maternal assistant prioress, Mother Marie — the role of self-abnegation is a deep moral mystery, one that takes a lifetime to fully understand.
—Joshua Kosman, San Francisco Chronicle, 16 Oct. 2022
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Jordan Kisner, The Atlantic, 4 Apr. 2025
The audience responds gratefully to this level of self-abnegation, and the frankly chilling sounds that come out of her.
—Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2024
Honoré recalls the dirt of a horny adolescent’s lust, the emotional confusion that twists desire for contact and intimacy into degradation, self-abnegation, and the longing for salvation — needs effaced by the title’s unclear American translation.
—Armond White, National Review, 5 May 2023
The tenacious resistance among many Democratic politicians to publicly challenge the court’s misdeeds stands as a spectacular act of self-abnegation.
—Simon Lazarus, The New Republic, 21 Apr. 2023
For the senior members of the order — two successive prioresses and the conflicted but maternal assistant prioress, Mother Marie — the role of self-abnegation is a deep moral mystery, one that takes a lifetime to fully understand.
—Joshua Kosman, San Francisco Chronicle, 16 Oct. 2022
Cite this Entry
“Self-abnegation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/self-abnegation. Accessed 21 Mar. 2026.
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