self-command

noun

self-com·​mand ˌself-kə-ˈmand 

: command of oneself : self-control

She turns away and sits down on the bench under the yew tree, struggling to recover her self-command.

—George Bernard Shaw

When Tommy set forth on the trail of the two men, it took all Tuppence's self-command to refrain from accompanying him.

—Agatha Christie

Synonyms

• constraint
• continence
• discipline
• discretion
• inhibition
• refrainment
• repression
• reserve
• restraint
• self-control
• self-restraint
• suppression

Examples of self-command in a Sentence

a witness practicing remarkable self-command under intense questioning by several members of Congress

an aloof man of great self-command but little charm

Word History

First Known Use

1651, in the meaning defined above