self-restraint
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
- self-restrained adjective
- self-restraining adjective
Etymology
Origin of self-restraint
First recorded in 1765–75
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It has been a matter of self-restraint, a norm in which presidents chose not to use all the power they might legally possess.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 20, 2026
Despite the usual crowds of thousands, the feeling of self-restraint was more evident this year, the 30-year-old told AFP.
From Barron's • Nov. 1, 2025
The governor of Sweida, Mustapha al-Bakur, called on his constituents to "exercise self-restraint and respond to national calls for reform".
From BBC • Jul. 13, 2025
Named after a 1960 Supreme Court case, the Petite Policy is a self-restraint that the Justice Department imposes on its own prosecutors concerning conduct that is already the subject of a state or local prosecution.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 9, 2024
When Snape said nothing, Narcissa seemed to lose what little self-restraint she still possessed.
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
