To·tal a. Whole; not divided; entire; full; complete; absolute; as, a total departure from the evidence; a total loss. “ Total darkness.” “To undergo myself the total crime.”
Total abstinence. See Abstinence, n., 1.
Total depravity. Theol. See Original sin, under Original.
Ab·sti·nence n.
1. The act or practice of abstaining; voluntary forbearance of any action, especially the refraining from an indulgence of appetite, or from customary gratifications of animal or sensual propensities. Specifically, the practice of abstaining from intoxicating beverages, -- called also total abstinence.
The abstinence from a present pleasure that offers itself is a pain, nay, oftentimes, a very great one. --Locke.
2. The practice of self-denial by depriving one's self of certain kinds of food or drink, especially of meat.
Penance, fasts, and abstinence,
To punish bodies for the soul's offense. --Dryden.
◄ ►