as in refusal
the act or practice of giving up or rejecting something once enjoyed or desired
the couple's sudden abnegation of life in the fast lane for work as missionaries stunned everyone
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of abnegation
The life that Alharthi describes is one of almost saintly self-abnegation.
—
Ron Charles, Washington Post, 24 May 2022
His naïve insolence punctures the vanities of other filmmakers while offering no alternative, and the movie that results is a joyless, confused self-abnegation.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 11 Apr. 2022
That abnegation of critical judgment is the most important feature of the 1994 statement.
—Michael Bérubé, The New Republic, 21 Mar. 2022
Where to go in a world where every slight, every frown, every chagrin, every cloud and every rainy day is a cause for outrage, denunciation, shame, self-abnegation and maybe even a congressional investigation or two?
—WSJ, 14 June 2021
See All Example Sentences for abnegation
Ron Charles, Washington Post, 24 May 2022
His naïve insolence punctures the vanities of other filmmakers while offering no alternative, and the movie that results is a joyless, confused self-abnegation.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 11 Apr. 2022
That abnegation of critical judgment is the most important feature of the 1994 statement.
—Michael Bérubé, The New Republic, 21 Mar. 2022
Where to go in a world where every slight, every frown, every chagrin, every cloud and every rainy day is a cause for outrage, denunciation, shame, self-abnegation and maybe even a congressional investigation or two?
—WSJ, 14 June 2021
See All Example Sentences for abnegation
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abnegation
Noun
-
The problem with this type of refusal is that a cat-and-mouse gambit is likely to ensue.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
30 July 2025
-
Since they are restricted free agents, their 2024-25 teams have right of first refusal, meaning if Grimes, for example, signed an offer sheet with another franchise, the Sixers could match it to bring him back for the same price.—
Fred Katz,
New York Times,
29 July 2025
Noun
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This is largely due to the renunciation of complete sovereignty and the sharing of resources that the EU has encouraged for almost 60 years now.—
Frank-Walter Steinmeier,
Foreign Affairs,
13 June 2016
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Dual citizenship policies vary among countries, with some countries mandating renunciation of existing citizenship.—
Jean Francois Harvey,
Forbes,
20 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The denial cited documentation that the nickname was used to refer to New York decades before Batman was created.—
Scott Soshnick,
Sportico.com,
24 July 2025
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Judge Robin Rosenberg, in her denial of that petition, said that an unrelated ruling in 2020 by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that a district court does not have the power to unseal grand jury records in instances not covered by the criminal procedure rule.—
Dan Mangan,
CNBC,
23 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Abnegation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abnegation. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.
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