itself
Americanpronoun
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a reflexive form of it.
The battery recharges itself.
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an emphatic appositive of it, which, that, this, or a noun.
which itself is also true; Even without flowers, the bowl itself is beautiful.
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(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.
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its normal or customary self.
After much tender care, the puppy was soon itself again.
pronoun
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the reflexive form of it 1
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(intensifier)
even the money itself won't convince me
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(preceded by a copula) its normal or usual self
my cat isn't itself today
Usage
See myself.
Etymology
Origin of itself
before 1000; Middle English; Old English hit self. See it 1, self
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Among educational institutions, Chemerinsky points out, only Harvard has stood up for itself in court — and it has been successful, thus far.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
The hypothesis itself arose from observations of grandmothers’ behaviors in extant hunter-gatherer groups in the 1980s.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
To understand how a court talks itself into that, you have to appreciate how little law there is to stop it.
From Slate ● Jul. 28, 2026
The trouble is, the MBacc itself can be quite a difficult concept to get your head around if you're not familiar with it.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
I stood up again and looked at the sea grass that bent itself over the rocky road.
From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
