self

/sɛlf/

/sɛlf/

Other forms: selves; selfs

Your self is your sense of who you are, deep down — your identity. When you let someone else know you well, you reveal your true self to them.

If the subject of your thoughts is you, you're thinking about your self — or, alternately, yourself. There are parts of your brain that make it possible for you to think about the concept of self, and schools of philosophy devoted to exploring why people have a unique sense of self. Psychologists also study the development of the self, or the beginning of self-awareness, in children. Self comes from the Old English, in which it means "one's own person."

Definitions of self

1. noun

   your consciousness of your own identity
   synonyms: ego

   types:

   anima

   (Jungian psychology) the inner self (not the external persona) that is in touch with the unconscious

   type of:

   consciousness

   an alert cognitive state in which you are aware of yourself and your situation
2. noun

   a person considered as a unique individual
   “one's own self”

   types:

   number one

   a reference to yourself or myself etc.; `take care of number one' means to put your own interests first

   type of:

   individual, mortal, person, somebody, someone, soul

   a human being
3. adjective

   (used as a combining form) relating to--of or by or to or from or for--the self
   “self-knowledge”

   “self-proclaimed”

   “self-induced”