herselfpronoun
uk/hɜːˈself/us/hɝːˈself/A2 used to refer to a female object of a verb, that is the same person or animal as the subject of the verb:
She kept telling herself that nothing was wrong.
My mother would worry herself to death if she knew what I was doing.
B2 used to emphasize a particular woman, girl, or female animal:
She decorated the cake herself.
She herself admitted that it was wrong.
(all) by herself
A2 If a woman or girl does something by herself, she does it alone or without help from anyone else:
She lives by herself in an enormous house.
Holly's only three but she wrote her name all by herself.
(all) to herself
for her use only:
Mum's got the house to herself this weekend.
not be/seem/feel herself
not to be, seem, or feel as happy or healthy as usual:
Is Michelle all right? She doesn't seem quite herself at the moment.
in herself UK informal
used when describing or asking about a woman's state of mind when she is physically ill:
I know she's got back trouble but how is she in herself?
More examples
- She went shopping to cheer herself up.
- She was too frightened to go herself, so she sent her son to find out the news.
- She gave me a signed photograph of herself.
- She sprayed herself with perfume.
- "I'm so glad to see you!" she said, seating herself between Eleanor and Marianne.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Linguistics: reflexive forms
- auto
- himself
- itself
- myself
- oneself
- ourselves
- per se
- reflexive
- self
- themself
- themselves
- thyself
- yourself
You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Alone
Numbers: single, double & multiple
Feelings - general words
Idiom(s)
keep (herself) to herself