self
1 Americannoun
plural
selves-
a person or thing referred to with respect to complete individuality.
one's own self.
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a person's nature, character, etc..
his better self.
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personal interest.
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Philosophy.
-
the ego; that which knows, remembers, desires, suffers, etc., as contrasted with that known, remembered, etc.
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the uniting principle, as a soul, underlying all subjective experience.
-
adjective
pronoun
plural
selvesverb (used with or without object)
noun
-
the distinct individuality or identity of a person or thing
-
a person's usual or typical bodily make-up or personal characteristics
she looked her old self again
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rare a polite way of referring to or addressing a person (or persons), used following your, his, her, or their
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one's own welfare or interests
he only thinks of self
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an individual's consciousness of his own identity or being
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philosophy that which is essential to an individual, esp the mind or soul in Cartesian metaphysics; the ego
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a bird, animal, etc, that is a single colour throughout, esp a self-coloured pigeon
pronoun
adjective
-
of the same colour or material See also self-coloured
a dress with a self belt
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obsolete the same
combining form
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of oneself or itself
self-defence
self-rule
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by, to, in, due to, for, or from the self
self-employed
self-inflicted
self-respect
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automatic or automatically
self-propelled
Usage
What does self- mean? Self- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “self,” in a variety of senses. Often, it is used to mean "of the self," "independent," or "automatic." In many instances, it is separated from the second element with a hyphen, as in self-government. It is often used in a variety of everyday and technical terms.Self- comes from Old English self, meaning “self.”
Etymology
Origin of self
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English self, selfa; cognate with Dutch zelf, German selb-, Old Norse sjalfr, Gothic silba; akin to Irish féin, Latin suī, sē
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In reality, if I had shown up to speed dating as my complete self, that would have been more than enough to stir sparks with a new flame.
From Los Angeles Times
Calling Greeley, “the self appointed Attorney General for the hobgoblin society,” the Burr brothers set out to expose spirit communication as a fraud and tell the public the truth about the Fox sisters.
From Literature
“Laughter is everything. When you laugh — like a real belly laugh — you’re letting out your inner self,” she says.
From Los Angeles Times
Real Madrid and England defender Trent Alexander-Arnold said Vinicius had been his usual self before the fixture, "very chilled" and "very relaxed".
From BBC
On the morning of the second day, I crawled out of bed feeling almost like my old self again.
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
