teetotal
teetotal Lexical Profile
teetotal Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Choosing or characterized by complete abstinence from alcoholic drinks.
"After years of social drinking, he decided to go teetotal for the sake of his long-term health."
American Complete, absolute, or unqualified in degree or extent.
"The poorly planned expedition turned out to be a teetotal disaster from the very first day."
• noun
A person who practices complete abstinence from alcoholic beverages; a teetotaler.
"Several members of the temperance society were lifelong teetotals who campaigned for community reform."
• verb
To practice complete abstinence from alcoholic drinks.
"He resolved to teetotal for the remainder of the year while training for the marathon."
Word Nuance & Usage
Although originally formed as a general emphatic variant of 'total', in modern British and Commonwealth English 'teetotal' is almost exclusively used as an adjective meaning abstinent from alcohol, whereas American speakers more commonly use the noun 'teetotaler'.
• Rhymes for teetotal
Word Origin & Etymology
Coined in the 1830s through emphatic reduplication of the initial letter of 'total', famously popularized in 1833 by Richard 'Dicky' Turner, a working-class temperance advocate in Preston, Lancashire, who urged 'tee-total' abstinence from all alcoholic beverages rather than merely from ardent spirits.