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.
As a result of their less mature brains, kids exhibit less impulse control and self-restraint than adults.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
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
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
Although I know his capacity for self-restraint in a dangerous moment is uncanny.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.