abstemious
/æbˈstiː.mɪ.əs/
"abstemious" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“abstemious” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as an adjective - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 10
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Refraining from freely consuming food or strong drink; sparing in diet; abstinent, temperate.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | abstemious |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /æbˈstiː.mɪ.əs/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “abstemious” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for abstemious is 10 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /æbˈstiː.mɪ.əs/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for abstemious, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin abstēmius (“abstaining from wine”); from ab, abs (“from”) + tēmus, a root of tēmētum (“intoxicating drink, especially strong mead or wine”) (possibly from Proto-Indo-European *temH- (“dark (referring to the colour of wine)”)) + -ous. The correct English form is abstemious, spelled A-B-S-T-E-M-I-O-U-S.
Definition
- 1Refraining from freely consuming food or strong drink; sparing in diet; abstinent, temperate.
- 2Sparing in the indulgence of the appetite or passions.
- 3Sparingly used; used with temperance or moderation.
- 4Marked by, or spent in, abstinence.
- 5Promotive of abstemiousness.
Etymology
From Latin abstēmius (“abstaining from wine”); from ab, abs (“from”) + tēmus, a root of tēmētum (“intoxicating drink, especially strong mead or wine”) (possibly from Proto-Indo-European *temH- (“dark (referring to the colour of wine)”)) + -ous.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “abstemious”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-B-S-T-E-M-I-O-U-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /æbˈstiː.mɪ.əs/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.