mindmap root((节制)) temperance implies habitual moderation and the exercise of discretion in any activity; in reference to the use of intoxicating beverages, it implies not moderation but abstention: exercise ~ in all activities. sobriety suggests avoidance of excess, often specifically of the excess of drinking that leads to intoxication, it may also connotes seriousness and avoidance of ostentation: a sect noted for its ~ of dress. abstinence implies voluntary deprivation: practiced ~ when it came to dessert. abstemiousness implies habitual self-restraint, moderation, frugality, especially in eating or drinking: lived a life of frugality and ~. continence emphasizes self-restraint in regard to impulses and desires: a style of writing marked by ~ and craft; it finds its typical application in regard to sexual indulgence, where it may imply either complete chastity or avoidance of excess: a society that encouraged ~ in all its members.