Both Uses of
abnegate
in
The Brothers Karamazov
- When you choose an elder, you renounce your own will and yield it to him in complete submission, complete self-abnegation.†
Chpt 1 *
- This novitiate, this terrible school of abnegation, is undertaken voluntarily, in the hope of self-conquest, of self-mastery, in order, after a life of obedience, to attain perfect freedom, that is, from self; to escape the lot of those who have lived their whole life without finding their true selves in themselves.†
Chpt 1
Definition:
-
(abnegate) to renounce or rejectThe exact meaning of abnegate can depend upon its context. For example:
- "to abnegate his responsibilities as a father" -- to reject or ignore a duty
- "to practice self-abnegation" -- to deny oneself (voluntarily give something up such as a luxury)
- "to abnegate her faith" -- to reject a belief
- "to abnegate her legal rights" -- to give up a claim, title, or position of power