self-restraint

noun

"self-restraint" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“self-restraint” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
14
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Self-control, control over one's emotions, passions and actions.

Corpus desk

Index EN-self-restraint · self-restraint · English

self-restraint · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 14 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "S" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for self-restraint
PropertyValue
Headwordself-restraint
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters14
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “self-restraint” in English

self-restraintsits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

self-restraint is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Self-control, control over one's emotions, passions and actions.".

Zero misspellings are on record for self-restraint in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From self- + restraint. The correct English form is self-restraint, spelled S-E-L-F---R-E-S-T-R-A-I-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Self-control, control over one's emotions, passions and actions.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how self-restraint appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. His lack of self-restraint led to several ugly scenes of debauchery and violent outburst.
  2. Sovereigntism means a country doing what it wants to do within only the limits of what it can do. It means the end of self-restraint within a framework of mutual restraint.

Etymology

From self- + restraint.

Synonyms

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "self-restraint"?
"self-restraint" is spelled S-E-L-F---R-E-S-T-R-A-I-N-T.
What does "self-restraint" mean?
As a noun, "self-restraint" means: Self-control, control over one's emotions, passions and actions.
What is the origin of the word "self-restraint"?
From self- + restraint. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list