willpower

Or will pow·er

[wil-poh-er]

noun

1. control of one's impulses and actions; self-control.

willpower

/ ˈwɪlˌpaʊə /

noun

1. the ability to control oneself and determine one's actions

2. firmness of will

Word History and Origins

Origin of willpower¹

First recorded in 1870–75; will ² ( def. ) + power ( def. )

Example Sentences

He has praised Andrew Tate’s “physical prowess” on social media along with his “willpower and spirit,” calling him “the embodiment of the ancient ideal of excellence.”

Read more on Salon

It had taken all of her willpower not to wipe the wolf slime from her face until she was sure Mama Woof was not watching.

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“They are the rare overlap of leaky attention, which allows them to pick up signals others miss, and strong discipline and willpower,” Popple says.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

A common misconception is that it results solely from a lack of willpower, when in reality, biological, genetic, social, and environmental factors all contribute to the difficulty of losing and maintaining weight.

Read more on Science Daily

Their expert guest on this podcast episode, psychologist Kimberley Wilson, helped Xand understand that "there's no such thing as willpower".

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• firmness www.thesaurus.com
• grit 
• self-control 
• self-discipline