self-denial

[ self-di-nahy-uh l, self- ]

/ ˈsɛlf dɪˈnaɪ əl, ˌsɛlf- /

the sacrifice of one's own desires; unselfishness.

an act or instance of restraining or curbing one's desires: To reduce, one has to practice self-denial at the dinner table.

Origin of self-denial

First recorded in 1635–45

self-de·ny·ing, adjective self-de·ny·ing·ly, adverb

Another tradition of manliness would point them toward discipline, sacrifice, and self-denial.

Alleged Santa Barbara Killer Elliot Rodger and the Twisted Cult of Modern Masculinity |James Poulos |May 26, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The Roman idea of self-denial differed very strikingly from our own.

Who Was the Real Cato? |David Frum |December 20, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
This is one of its greatest qualities, and like all the great virtues it is based primarily on self-denial.

Notes on Life and Letters |Joseph Conrad
This moving tale of self-denial and of averted sorrow, sin, and perhaps tragedy, is told in letters to another lady.

A History of the French Novel, Vol. 2 |George Saintsbury

Humility and self-denial carried to such an extent are superhuman!

En Route |J.-K. (Joris-Karl) Huysmans
Never was self-denial better bestowed: and, like most rational penances, it soon became no penance at all.

The Cloister and the Hearth |Charles Reade
We are compelled to the self-denial, toil, and danger of warfare, in order to obtain the liberty which is to carry us forward.

The Hour and the Man |Harriet Martineau

self-denial

the denial or sacrifice of one's own desires

self-denying, adjective self-denyingly, adverb