UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament

Sense 1: to control oneself, to exercise self-control, self-control

Semantic entry: 88.83

Semantic domains: Moral and Ethical Qualities and Related Behavior

Subdomains: Self-Control, Lack of Self-Control

Definition: to exercise complete control over one’s desires and actions

Notes: An adequate rendering of the expression ‘to exercise self-control’ may require an idiomatic equivalent, for example, ‘to hold oneself in,’ ‘to command oneself,’ ‘to be a chief of oneself,’ ‘to make one’s heart be obedient,’ ‘to command one’s own desires,’ ‘to be the master of what one wants,’ or ‘to say No to one’s body.’ (Compare ἀκρασία ‘lack of self-control,’ 88.91: ἀκρασία, and ἀκρατής ‘lacking in self-control,’ 88.92: ἀκρατής.)