herself

[ her-self ]

pronoun

an emphatic appositive of her or she: She herself wrote the letter.
a reflexive form of her: She supports herself.

(used in absolute constructions): Herself still only a child, she had to take care of her four younger brothers and sisters.
(used as the object of a preposition or as the direct or indirect object of a verb): She gave herself a facial massage. He asked her for a picture of herself.
(used in comparisons after as or than): She found out that the others were even more nervous than herself.
her normal or customary self: After a few weeks of rest, she will be herself again.

Origin of herself

before 1000; Middle English hire-selfe,Old English hire self.See her, self

usage note For herself

See myself.

Words Nearby herself

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use herself in a sentence

As the protagonist gets herself off in front of her impotent husband, she moans “Oh, Gronky.”
‘A Gronking to Remember’ Speed Read: 8 Naughtiest Bits | Emily Shire | January 7, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
Myerson herself appears to have bought into that stigma, offering mixed to negative views on the Miss America pageant.
Why Was Bess Myerson the First and Last Jewish Miss America? | Emily Shire | January 7, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
Real Housewives of New Jersey star Teresa Giudice turned herself in to serve a 15-month sentence for bankruptcy fraud.
How a ‘Real Housewife’ Survives Prison: ‘I Don’t See [Teresa Giudice] Having a Cakewalk Here’ | Michael Howard | January 6, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
One difference was that Chen was herself wearing white gloves.
Funeral Protest Is Too Much for NYPD Union Boss | Michael Daly | January 5, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
But the act of killing herself done, the message was sent, and heard, and things started changing.
Cover-Ups and Concern Trolls: Actually, It's About Ethics in Suicide Journalism | Arthur Chu | January 3, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST

She herself had worn them in her youth, and they were the proper bonnets for "growing girls."
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3) | Charles James Wills
Hilda, trembling at the door, more than half expected Mr. Orgreave to say: "You mean, she's invited herself."
Hilda Lessways | Arnold Bennett
None other would dare to show herself unveiled to a stranger, and a white man at that.
The Red Year | Louis Tracy
She took the fan from Madame Ratignolle and began to fan both herself and her companion.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories | Kate Chopin
And once more, she found herself desiring to be like Janet--not only in appearance, but in soft manner and tone.
Hilda Lessways | Arnold Bennett

British Dictionary definitions for herself

herself

/ (həˈsɛlf) /

pronoun

- the reflexive form of she or her
- (intensifier): the queen herself signed the letter
(preceded by a copula) her normal or usual self: she looks herself again after the operation

Irish and Scot the wife or woman of the house: is herself at home?

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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