1
as in restraint
the power to control one's actions, impulses, or emotions
toddlers have very little self-control
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in discipline
the checking of one's true feelings and impulses when dealing with others
she could be passionate and intense, but generally exercised steely self-control in the company of strangers
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of self-control
Adjust your self-control slowly to build trust.
—
Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 17 Apr. 2026
The queen’s impeccable self-control impressed many in Washington.
—Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair, 15 Apr. 2026
Limits help develop self-control, responsibility, and decision making.
—Jose Bolaños, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Apr. 2026
Her early death, after an illness that the father initially contrives to ignore then notices just in time to capture her desperation in a fine sketch, leaves Mimí utterly disoriented, yearning only to achieve a level of self-control and detachment that will spare him their tumultuous struggle.
—Tim Parks, The New York Review of Books, 4 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for self-control
Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 17 Apr. 2026
The queen’s impeccable self-control impressed many in Washington.
—Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair, 15 Apr. 2026
Limits help develop self-control, responsibility, and decision making.
—Jose Bolaños, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Apr. 2026
Her early death, after an illness that the father initially contrives to ignore then notices just in time to capture her desperation in a fine sketch, leaves Mimí utterly disoriented, yearning only to achieve a level of self-control and detachment that will spare him their tumultuous struggle.
—Tim Parks, The New York Review of Books, 4 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for self-control
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-control
Noun
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In the case of these earrings, restraint was paramount.—
Jill Newman,
Robb Report,
18 June 2026
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For disabled students already navigating discrimination, bullying, and in some cases dangerous seclusion and restraint practices with fewer advocacy resources than ever, the question of who will investigate and enforce their rights just got a lot murkier.—
Keely Cat-Wells,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2026
Noun
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Technical excellence is paramount, but so is the ability to take risks, learn from your mistakes and work at the edge and intersections of disciplines to transform ideas into knowledge and action.—
Rachel Nuwer,
Scientific American,
16 June 2026
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Marie says each piece of work carries a story about childhood, discipline, survival and the complicated ways love can be expressed.—
Nia Dumas,
NPR,
16 June 2026
Noun
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The little people are being menaced by a dark force—a force with power, money, and very few moral inhibitions.—
Hanna Rosin,
The Atlantic,
4 June 2026
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Shrug off inhibitions and break the ice as the moon and Uranus harmonize.—
USA TODAY,
USA Today,
4 June 2026
Noun
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Jafarzadeh highlighted Khabiri as a symbol of the regime’s repression of athletes, as Khabiri was a rising soccer star who became captain of Iran’s national team before being arrested and asked to appear on television to renounce his political beliefs.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
10 June 2026
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Other ancestors had fled aboard the Mayflower from the persecution of Puritans in England, aboard a steamship from pogroms in Ukraine, aboard a schooner from Spanish repression in Cuba.—
Yoni Appelbaum,
The Atlantic,
8 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Self-control.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-control. Accessed 21 Jun. 2026.
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