self-restraint

noun

self-re·​straint ˌself-ri-ˈstrānt How to pronounce self-restraint (audio)
: restraint exercised over one's own impulses, emotions, or desires : self-control
A bitter answer leaped to his tongue, but he was learning self-restraint.Somerset Maugham

Examples of self-restraint in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Observers will begin fasting for the next month from sunrise to sunset and engaging in activities that challenge their self-restraint and bring them closer to God. USA TODAY, 12 Mar. 2024 The tense self-restraint that’s written into the character converges with that of Gladstone’s performance. Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 23 Jan. 2024 Altman had argued in the past that the strange structure of OpenAI, with a nonprofit overseeing a for-profit company, offered a form of self-restraint that would keep the company's technological ambitions on a safety-conscious leash. Wired Staff, WIRED, 28 Dec. 2023 Unfortunately, this kind of self-restraint may be easier said than done, particularly when the market demands newer and better products. IEEE Spectrum, 29 Oct. 2023 So has Swift: Her voice has matured, no longer possessing the sweet self-restraint that colored her earliest releases. Maria Sherman, BostonGlobe.com, 7 July 2023 These points support my argument that the present is a deviation from more than three decades of the preceding Chinese leadership’s relative self-restraint on economic intervention. Zongyuan Zoe Liu, Foreign Affairs, 3 Oct. 2023 The autocrat’s Achilles’ heel is an inherent lack of credible self-restraint. Adam S. Posen, Foreign Affairs, 2 Aug. 2023 This has been due to a combination of creative diplomacy, military deterrence, and self-restraint on the part of China, Taiwan and the United States. David Sacks, Foreign Affairs, 15 June 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'self-restraint.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1656, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of self-restraint was in 1656

Dictionary Entries Near self-restraint

Cite this Entry

“Self-restraint.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/self-restraint. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

self-restraint

noun
self-re·​straint
ˌsel-fri-ˈstrānt
: proper control over one's actions or emotions

More from Merriam-Webster on self-restraint

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