Advertisement - Continue reading below

Definition of "self-restraint" [self•-re•straint]

  • Restraint of one's emotions, desires, or inclinations; self-control. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "self-restraint" in a sentence
  • "In view of the First Amendment, I can envision no practical or legal way of forbidding the media from publicizing such charges except self-restraint, which is hardly likely in this competitive, sensation- hungry media world."
  • "Not biology, said Thome, but the exclusion of slaves from the culture of self-restraint."
  • "Should directors practice some self-restraint now?"