self-restraint
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
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.
Whatever the outcome, the court will be deciding not only the fate of one executive order but whether its own doctrine of self-restraint in election cases still has any meaning.
From Slate ● Jul. 30, 2026
And I mean, it definitely has a lot of self-restraint attached to it, so who knows if I possess that as well.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2026
"I would say that a summary of Chinese policy towards Russia is one of self-restraint," he says.
From BBC ● May 18, 2026
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
She could only use patience and self-restraint poor tools when matched against the heartfelt mania of love to which the ancient race was martyred.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
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.
