self-command
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of self-command
First recorded in 1690–1700
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 comes to the same thing. I can have no self-command without a motive. You order me, whether you speak or not. And you can be always with me. You are always with me.”
From Literature
![]()
“You began the evening well, Charlotte,” said Mrs. Bennet with civil self-command to Miss Lucas.
From Literature
![]()
Groups of large men and women hurtle at one another to the point of potential endangerment yet manage self-command.
From Washington Post
She has become a player of directed passion, done the admirable work of learning self-command and grown into one of the more courteous and generous champions in the game.
From Washington Post
Thus is the hero of the film, played with charismatic self-command by Denzel Washington, presented as the Spartacus of his people.
From The New Yorker
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.