theirself

[ thair-self ]

pronoun

, Nonstandard.

1. themselves.

Word History and Origins

Origin of theirself¹

1250–1300; Middle English; formed on analogy of myself

Example Sentences

And I think that Tenser is the analog or the avatar of a passionate, intense artist who is giving absolutely everything and allowing himself or herself, theirself, to become as vulnerable as you are.

From Los Angeles Times

Sologamy, a wedding ceremony where a person "marries" theirself, has been a growing trend in the West over the past few years.

From BBC

“I’m sure a lot of them come out to get around people so they’re not by theirself,” she said.

From Washington Times

Craving “a big, fast, dominating, aggressive, relentless football team that nobody in the SEC wants to play,” he said also, “We’re gonna coach ’em how to go to class, how to introduce theirself to the professors in their class because I think that’s important.

From Washington Post

Politicians only take care of theirself, it is so sad.

From New York Times

More About Theirself

What does theirself mean?

Theirself is a singular, gender-neutral pronoun used as an alternative to the plural-sounding themselves or to the gender-specific himself or herself.

Theirself is used in instances when the gender of the subject is unknown or when the subject has a gender identity other than male or female, such as nonbinary. The singular, gender-neutral pronoun themself is synonymous with theirself.

Example: Anyone who says they aren’t scared of the dark is kidding theirself.

Where does theirself comes from?

Your spell checker might mark theirself as incorrect, but it’s been around for several centuries. A version of theirself was even used in Middle English. There has been an increase in usage of theirself over time across spoken and written English, especially along with the rise in the use of they as a singular, gender-neutral pronoun.

Theirself is modeled after the pronouns herself and himself and can be used in any of the ways that those are:

• They theirself said it.
• I hate when an author gives theirself too much credit for the success of the movie adaptation.
• Not one of you can call theirself a true fan.
• It’s nice to see Dana feeling like theirself again.

In many of these sentences, themselves is the more traditional choice, but it tends to imply that the subject is plural, hence the use of theirself as an alternative.

Did you know ... ?

What are some synonyms for theirself?

• themself
• themselves

What are some words that share a root or word element with theirself?

• they
• their
• them
• self

What are some words that often get used in discussing theirself?

• pronoun
• gender-neutral
• singular
• reflexive

How is theirself used in real life?

Theirself is used to refer to a singular subject but otherwise can be used in many situations and constructions.

I don't know who needs to hear this but life is not a competition. Always aspire to continually learn and grow but don't focus on other's progression in life. Impossible to know their full story. Only how they present theirself publicly.

— Phil of the Punxsutawney Phil's (@PhilAIV) December 19, 2019

There is a kid who I've been in many classes with since freshman year. They went from ball caps and camo to wearing accessories in their beard, painting their nails, and wearing skirts.

It's just wholesome to see someone explore and grow into theirself

— 𝘽𝙤𝙮 𝙎𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙚𝙙 𝘽𝙡𝙤𝙗 @ waiting.. (@astrobat_) January 23, 2020

if you see a tweet of someone who’s down or hating theirself THEY’RE NOT ATTENTION SEEKERS THEY’RE ASKING FOR SOMEONE TO LISTEN THEM

— 𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐚|𝐟𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 (@gwsluve) December 12, 2019

 

Try using theirself!

Imagine you’re taking a survey asking about your idea of the ideal coworker. Use theirself in a sentence describing what they would be like.