1
as in restraint
the power to control one's actions, impulses, or emotions
toddlers have very little self-control
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in discipline
the checking of one's true feelings and impulses when dealing with others
she could be passionate and intense, but generally exercised steely self-control in the company of strangers
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of self-control
But increasingly, studies are finding associations between heavy consumption of short-form video and challenges with focus and self-control.
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Angela Yang, NBC news, 3 Dec. 2025
For all the posturing about discipline, spirituality, and self-control, rappers are just as entangled in the rumor economy as their listeners.
—Jayson Buford, Rolling Stone, 3 Nov. 2025
People with positive parenting feelings exhibited more connectivity changes in parts of the brain that are important for self-control (the middle frontal gyrus) and empathy (the supramarginal gyrus).
—Anthony Vaccaro, Scientific American, 29 Oct. 2025
Safdie perceptively locates the protagonist’s troubling inner contradictions—the atavistic fury that drives him to compete and the intense self-control that competition demands—but dramatizes such outer crises as opioid addiction and conflict with his girlfriend (Emily Blunt) only schematically.
—Vince Aletti, New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for self-control
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-control
Noun
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But restraint does not mean passivity.—
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The American Conservative was founded on foreign policy restraint, trade realism, and migration sanity in 2002.—
Noun
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Eberflus’ best intentions and vision for winning football disintegrated due in part to his team’s lack of discipline and the coaching staff’s inability to steer out of even the smallest skids.—
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However, the Chinese researchers argue that those systems typically focus on fewer disciplines and often require manual adjustments when expanded.—
Noun
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Most of those seeds require some bit of cold weather exposure or other mitigating factor to overcome the inhibition and set the stage for a more sensible spring germination.—
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The key is to relax, let go of your inhibitions, and just have fun.—
Noun
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Critics accuse him of enabling repression and politicizing the armed forces, while supporters portray him as a stabilizing figure.—
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In June only Israel attacked Iran’s apparatus of repression.—
Cite this Entry
“Self-control.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-control. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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