Definition of 'self'
Word forms: plural selves
1. countable noun
Your self is your basic personality or nature, especially considered in terms of what you are really like as a person.
You're looking more like your usual self.
She was back to her old self again.
2. countable noun
A person's self is the essential part of their nature which makes them different from everyone and everything else.
I want to explore and get in touch with my inner self.
The face is the true self visible to others.
...our subconscious selves.
COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
nounWord forms: plural selves (sɛlvz
)
1.
2.
she looked her old self again
3. good self
5.
an individual's consciousness of his own identity or being
6. the self
7.
pronoun
8. not standard
myself, yourself, etc
seats for self and wife
adjective
10. obsolete
the same
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word origin of 'self'
Old English seolf; related to Old Norse sjālfr, Gothic silba, Old High German selb nounWord forms: plural selves
1.
the identity, character, or essential qualities of any person or thing
2.
one's own person as distinct from all others
pronoun
4. Informal
myself, himself, herself, or yourself
tickets for self and wife
adjective
5.
being uniform or the same throughout
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Word origin of 'self'
ME < OE, prob. < IE *selo- < base *se-, refl. pron., orig. separate, apart (> L sibi, se) + *(o)lo-, pron. suffix: basic sense “itself, by itself”Example sentences containing 'self'
The Sun (2008)
We feel like our old selves again.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)Initially he was acting in self defence.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)Now they were back to their old selves.
The Sun (2012) THROWING THE ELEPHANT (2002) Educational Psychology in a Changing World (1988) Times, Sunday Times (2015)She was a shadow of her former self.
Times, Sunday Times (2012) Times, Sunday Times (2008) The Sun (2008) Times, Sunday Times (2006) The Sun (2013)We can kick on and be our normal selves again.
The Sun (2009)He claims he acted in self defence.
The Sun (2010) Times, Sunday Times (2016) Times, Sunday Times (2014)Your thoughts, feelings and emotions are to the fore and your usual practical self takes a back seat.
The Sun (2016) Times, Sunday Times (2009)Word Lists
Psychology termsTrends of 'self'
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Definition of self from the
Collins English Dictionary
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