Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Full presence of mind; self-confidence.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun That equanimity which enables one in any situation to be reasonable and prudent, and to do what the circumstances require; self-control.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun Control over one's own feelings, temper, etc.; self-control.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun The conscious
control of one's own behaviour
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun the trait of resolutely controlling your own behavior
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word self-command.
Examples
-
David Ramsay, a South Carolina delegate to the Continental Congress, warned that “the temptations to drunkenness are so great and so common, as partly resulting from the climate, that great self-command, prudence and fortitude, and a strict discipline of the passions and appetites, are absolutely necessary to maintain the empire of reason over sense.”
A Renegade History of the United States Thaddeus Russell 2010
-
I was young then and it would be pleasant to think that now that I am old I am wise and have developed more strength of character and an iron-willed self-command.
Random Thought Number Two on the Hoosier Hypocrite---Now With More Middle-aged Sex Appeal. 2010
-
Behavioral economists, whose work combines the techniques and ideas of economics and psychology, have long focused on what Thomas Schelling, the 2005 Nobel laureate, called the “intimate contest for self-command” — the all-too-familiar inner conflict between the would-be disciplined self who wants to get up early, exercise, and lose weight and the pleasure-seeking self who prefers to sleep in, watch TV, and eat chocolate.
-
I was aware also that I should often lose all self-command, all capacity of hiding the harrowing sensations that would possess me during the progress of my unearthly occupation.
Chapter 18 2010
-
The intimate contest for self-command can apply to pleasures as well, and for similar reasons.
-
The intimate contest for self-command never ends, and lifetime happiness requires finding the right balance between present impulses and future well-being.
-
The intimate contest for self-command can apply to pleasures as well, and for similar reasons.
-
I was young then and it would be pleasant to think that now that I am old I am wise and have developed more strength of character and an iron-willed self-command.
Lance Mannion: 2010
-
Behavioral economists, whose work combines the techniques and ideas of economics and psychology, have long focused on what Thomas Schelling, the 2005 Nobel laureate, called the “intimate contest for self-command” — the all-too-familiar inner conflict between the would-be disciplined self who wants to get up early, exercise, and lose weight and the pleasure-seeking self who prefers to sleep in, watch TV, and eat chocolate.
-
The intimate contest for self-command never ends, and lifetime happiness requires finding the right balance between present impulses and future well-being.
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.