Synonyms of willpower

willpower

noun

ˈwil-ˌpau̇(-ə)r 

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

• restraint
• self-control
• determination
• nerve
• self-discipline
• will
• temperance
• composure
• self-restraint
• self-mastery
• discipline
• confidence
• temperateness
• self-command
• self-government
• self-possession
• continence
• self-containment
• moderation
• assurance
• mastery
• abnegation
• self-denial
• control
• abstention
• self-confidence
• self-abnegation
• avoidance
• abstinence
• sobriety
• forbearance
• moderateness
• soberness
• poise
• equanimity
• coolness
• command
• discretion
• aplomb
• eschewal

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• indulgence
• gratification
• overindulgence
• weakness
• intemperance
• failing
• excessiveness
• vice
• feebleness
• self-indulgence
• fault
• shortcoming
• frailty
• demerit
• foible
• intemperateness
• indiscipline
• immoderacy
• unrestraint
• unconstraint
• unreserve
• unreservedness

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of willpower

Most New Year’s resolutions tend to be restrictive or rely on willpower, such as eliminating alcohol and sugar from your diet, or exercising every morning. —Michele Patterson Ford, The Conversation, 15 Jan. 2026

Takeout used to be the pressure valve, the thing that kept us from burning out after returning from work, out of energy and willpower. —Allyson Reedy, Denver Post, 14 Jan. 2026

The last leader to underestimate her skills and willpower now sits in a prison cell in Brooklyn. —Stefano Pozzebon, CNN Money, 14 Jan. 2026

Natanya complicates her old-school character sketch with cerebral shifts in perspective, affecting each of the voices that accompany a young woman’s drive for success and independence (demanding friends and parents, sexist expectations, her own willpower) in a lurching cascade of melodies. —H.d. Angel, Pitchfork, 13 Jan. 2026