Meaning & use
moral restraint
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Meanings
noununcountable
Self-control based on a sense of right and wrong, which stops a person from doing something they feel is improper.
Grammar: No plural and no article is needed: he showed moral restraint.
Patterns
- show moral restraint
- moral restraint in something
The leader showed moral restraint and refused to take revenge.
Moral restraint, rather than laws, kept most villagers from stealing.
Critics argued that markets do not always encourage moral restraint.
noununcountablespecialist
In Malthus's theory, the practice of delaying marriage and avoiding having children until a family could support them.
Grammar: Used mostly in discussions of population and economic history.
Patterns
- population limited by moral restraint
Malthus believed moral restraint could slow population growth.
Historians still discuss whether moral restraint ever worked on a large scale.
The essay compared moral restraint with famine as limits on population.
Common combinations
- exercise moral restraint
- Voters expected the candidate to exercise moral restraint.
- lack of moral restraint
- The report blamed a lack of moral restraint among executives.
- call for moral restraint
- Religious leaders called for moral restraint during the crisis.
- act with moral restraint
- Soldiers must act with moral restraint even in conflict.
- appeal to moral restraint
- Her speech appealed to moral restraint rather than fear.
Synonyms and how they differ
- self-control
- Self-control is broader and everyday, while moral restraint stresses holding back for ethical reasons.
- self-discipline
- Self-discipline is about sticking to goals through effort, which need not involve right and wrong.
- temperance
- Temperance is a more old-fashioned word that suggests moderation, particularly in drink and appetite.
Opposites
Word family
- restrain verb
- to hold someone or something back
- restrained adjective
- calm and controlled
- restraint noun
- the act of holding back
- moral adjective
- concerned with right and wrong
- morality noun
- principles of right and wrong
Commonly confused: moral restraint or moral restraints?
moral restraint vs moral restraints
The plural suggests specific rules that limit behavior, while the singular names a personal quality.
Practice
Despite the provocation, the coach showed great ___ and did not shout at the referee.
Choose one answer.
Holding back out of a sense of what is right is moral restraint. The other options are unrelated to controlling one's behavior.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “moral restraint”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.