itself

American  

[it-self] / ɪtˈsɛlf /

pronoun

1. a reflexive form of it.

   The battery recharges itself.

2. an emphatic appositive of it, which, that, this, or a noun.

   which itself is also true; Even without flowers, the bowl itself is beautiful.

3. (used as the object of a preposition or as the direct or indirect object of a verb).

   The chameleon's ability to change color is a protection for itself.

4. its normal or customary self.

   After much tender care, the puppy was soon itself again.

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itself British  

/ ɪtˈsɛlf /

pronoun

1. 1. the reflexive form of it 1

   2. (intensifier)

      even the money itself won't convince me

2. (preceded by a copula) its normal or usual self

   my cat isn't itself today

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Usage

See myself.

Etymology

Origin of itself

before 1000; Middle English; Old English hit self. See it ¹, self

Example Sentences

Appeared in the October 16, 2025, print edition as 'How Jefferies Found Itself at Center of First Brands Collapse'.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 15, 2025

Journalist Theodore H. White perhaps best captured this dichotomy between Carter's accomplishments and his image in the book, "America in Search of Itself: The Making of the President, 1956-1980."

From Salon • Dec. 30, 2024

Speaking of poetry, musician and poet Kae Tempest's collection titled Divisible By Itself and One asks how can we be true to ourselves while under constant pressure to conform.

From BBC • Dec. 26, 2022

Devlin Barrett writes about the FBI and the Justice Department for The Washington Post and is the author of “October Surprise: How the FBI Tried to Save Itself and Crashed an Election.”

From Washington Post • Sep. 16, 2022

Itself a crownland of Austria, returning eleven members to the Austrian parliament, it is severed geographically from the other Austrian lands by the Hungarian kingdom of Croatia.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 9 "Dagupan" to "David" by Various