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

After years of him spending every free minute on the farm, his orchard became productive and profitable enough to sustain itself.

From Los Angeles Times

McBride, for her part, declined to speak on the policy itself, waving it off as a" blatant attempt from far right-wing extremists to distract from the fact that they have no real solutions to what Americans are facing."

From Salon

Many of the missiles and glide bombs that wreak devastation on military positions, blocks of flats and hospitals are launched by Russian aircraft far within Russia itself.

From BBC

But after the initial shock, the group has reorganised itself.

From BBC

The show — itself based on Gregory Magurie’s 1995 novel that gave a backstory to Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West from L. Frank Baum’s "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" — became a worldwide sensation when it debuted in 2003.

From Salon