itself

[ it-self ]

pronoun

1. a reflexive form of it ¹:

   The battery recharges itself.

2. an emphatic appositive of it ¹, 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.

itself

/ 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

Usage Note

See myself.

Word History and Origins

Origin of itself¹

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

Example Sentences

As most of us won’t regard the IRA as an army at war, as it styled itself, but a terrorist organization — as was, certainly, its opposite number, the Ulster Defense Assn. — our hope will be that the sisters survive the IRA as much as their smuggling expeditions, bank robberies and prison terms.

From Los Angeles Times

"The South African gameplan lends itself to putting the ball in the air a bit more, but there is no better man to have back there."

From BBC

The lights will turn back on in January 2025, when Infowars is relaunched as a parody of itself that mocks “weird internet personalities” likes Jones who traffic conspiracy theories and health supplements, according to The Onion.

From Salon

But this inefficiency is, in itself, efficient.

From Slate

That’s why, he thought, the immigration fight had to be taken up inside the conservation movement itself, by what is viewed as America’s most prominent environmental organization, an organization that would have the moral authority to bring difficult messages to the public.

From Salon