as in restraint
the power to control one's actions, impulses, or emotions
trying to summon the willpower to resist buying any more books before finishing the unread ones I already have
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of willpower
Building Guardrails For Sustainable Leadership The antidote to neglect isn't willpower.
—
Julian Hayes Ii, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
And my willpower was often low this year.
—Big Think, 28 Aug. 2025
Their engineering training taught them to look for root causes rather than quick fixes, and to build systematic solutions rather than rely on willpower alone.
—Malana Vantyler, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2025
For the Cardinal, success in the ACC is entirely about willpower.
—Jon Wilner, Mercury News, 15 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for willpower
Julian Hayes Ii, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
And my willpower was often low this year.
—Big Think, 28 Aug. 2025
Their engineering training taught them to look for root causes rather than quick fixes, and to build systematic solutions rather than rely on willpower alone.
—Malana Vantyler, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2025
For the Cardinal, success in the ACC is entirely about willpower.
—Jon Wilner, Mercury News, 15 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for willpower
Recent Examples of Synonyms for willpower
Noun
-
On multiple occasions, Johnson has pointed the blame at those who flee police and credited officers with showing restraint in pursuits.—
David Clarey,
jsonline.com,
3 Oct. 2025
-
Those charges include four counts each of counterfeiting−delivery/possession of property and knowingly selling counterfeit, nonfunctional or noncompliant supplemental restraint systems.—
Christina Hall,
Freep.com,
2 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Safdie perceptively locates the protagonist’s troubling inner contradictions—the atavistic fury that drives him to compete and the intense self-control that competition demands—but dramatizes such outer crises as opioid addiction and conflict with his girlfriend (Emily Blunt) only schematically.—
Vince Aletti,
New Yorker,
3 Oct. 2025
-
Applied here, an EED theory would try to show both a genuine loss of self-control and a reasonable explanation for that loss.—
Robert Alexander,
MSNBC Newsweek,
19 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Willpower.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/willpower. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share