abstinence: Meaning and Definition of

ab•sti•nence

1. forbearance from any indulgence of appetite, esp. from the use of alcoholic beverages: total abstinence.
2. any self-restraint, self-denial, or forbearance.
3. the conserving of current income in order to build up capital or savings.
4. the state of being without a drug, as alcohol or heroin, on which one is dependent.