YOURSELF LIST

1 PHRASES WITH YOURSELF 1. abase yourself
- Definition: to behave in a way that shows you accept that someone has complete power over you.
- Example: The members of the Political Executive Committee abased themselves once more.
2. absent yourself (from something)
- Definition: to not go to a place or take part in an event where people expect you to be.
- Example: Lucy arranged to absent herself from the expedition to allow Maggie to be alone with Phillip. 3. accommodate yourself to
- Definition: to assimilate or adjust to a new environment or a different set of rules or expectations.
- Definition: The new student struggled to accommodate himself to the new school and
often got in trouble as a result.
4. acquit yourself well/honorably
- Definition: to do something well, especially something difficult that you do for the first time in front of other people
- Example: They did acquit themselves well with heavier strings and a flat pick, but in the
main they were seen as fingerpicking guitars. 5. align yourself with
- Definition: to agree with a person or an organization and work with them or support their ideas.
- Example: The company has a commitment to align itself closely with specialty retailers. 6. (all) by yourself
- Definition: alone or without help from anyone else.
- Example: Do you like being by yourself sometimes or do you get lonely? 2 7. (all) to yourself
- Definition: if you have something or someone to yourself, you do not have to share them with other people.
- Example: He had done nothing wrong, nothing at all, but there was no way of proving it, even to himself. 8. apply yourself to
- Definition: to work hard at something, especially with a lot of attention for a long time.
- Example: Most of them applied themselves to their exercise books, their faces contorted with intellectual effort. 9. assert yourself
- Definition: to behave in a determined way and say clearly what you think.
- Example: Dependent and insecure, they may find it difficult to join in and to assert themselves. 10. assure yourself that/of
- Definition: to check that something is correct or true.
- Example: Tim waited a moment to assure himself that he was not being followed.
11. be beside yourself (with anger/rage/excitement/etc.)
- Definition: to be feeling so angry, excited etc that you find it difficult to control yourself.
- Example: Mom and Dad will be beside themselves with worry. 12. be in yourself
- Definition: used when asking someone about their state of mind when they are physically ill.
- Example: I know you must still be uncomfortable, but how are you in yourself? 13. be true to yourself
- Definition: behaving according to your beliefs and doing what you think is right.
- Example: Try to remember that no matter how hard it gets, you have to remain true to yourself. 14. be up yourself
- Definition: to think that you are better and more important than other people.
- Example: She's so up herself since she landed this new job, it's unbearable. 3 15. be yourself
- Definition: to behave in your usual manner, rather than behaving in a way you think other people might like.
- Example: The best thing you can do is to go into the interview and just be yourself. 16. bear yourself
- Definition: to walk, stand etc. in a particular way, especially when this shows your character.
- Example: Throughout the trial, she bore herself with great dignity. 17. bestir yourself
- Definition: to become active after a period of rest.
- Example: I'd better bestir myself – there's work to be done. 18. betake yourself
- Definition: to go somewhere.
- Example: I shall betake myself to my lodgings. 19. bethink yourself
- Definition: to think of something.
- Example: I bethought myself to open the window. 20. better yourself
- Definition: to improve your position in society by getting a better education or earning more money.
- Example: He doesn't criticize the vice-president marketing's expert judgement nor
pretend he could do better himself. 21. brace yourself
- Definition: said to warn someone to be prepared for something.
- Example: Brace yourself. I have some bad news. 22. burn yourself
- Definition: to injure oneself with a burn.
- Example: I burned myself on the iron. 23. busy yourself with
- Definition: to use your time dealing with something.
- Example: He busied himself with answering letters. 4 24. call yourself something
- Definition: to say that you are a particular type of person, although you do nothing to show this is true.
- Example: How could Julian call himself a friend and then let me down so badly? 25. carry yourself
- Definition: to move your body in a particular way.
- Example: You can tell she's a dancer from the way that she carries herself. 26. censor yourself
- Definition: to deliberately withhold or modify what you say, write, or express to avoid
offending others, breaking rules, or facing consequences.
- Example: During the meeting, Jake wanted to criticize his boss’s decision, but he decided
to censor himself to avoid causing trouble. 27. come to yourself
- Definition: to get hold of yourself.
- Example: But when he came to himself he said, "How many of my father's hired servants
have bread enough and to spare…" 28. commit yourself to
- Definition: to dedicate your time, effort, or energy to something.
- Example: If you really want to succeed in this job, you need to commit yourself to
continuous learning and hard work. 29. compromise yourself
- Definition: to act in a way that damages your integrity, reputation, or values.
- Example: She refused to compromise herself by lying to cover up her manager’s mistake.
30. concern yourself with/about
- Definition: to become involved in something because you are interested in it or because it worries you.
- Example: He loved his wife and concerned himself with her needs and desires. 31. conduct yourself
- Definition: to behave in a particular way, especially in a situation where people judge you by the way you behave.
- Example: The players conducted themselves impeccably, both on and off the field. 5 32. compose yourself
- Definition: to calm down and regain control of your emotions, especially in a stressful or emotional situation.
- Example: She was furious after the argument, but she took a deep breath to compose
herself before speaking again. 33. comport yourself
- Definition: to behave in a particular way.
- Example: He comported himself in a way that won him respect. 34. console yourself
- Definition: to make yourself feel better when you are sad or disappointed.
- Example: I consoled myself with the thought that the thief would not be able to sell the painting easily. 35. cover yourself (against)
- Definition: to do things in a way that will prevent people from blaming or criticizing you.
- Example: Doctors are concerned to cover themselves against charges of negligence. 36. cross yourself
- Definition: to move your hand across your upper body in the shape of a cross as a sign of the Christian faith.
- Example: The novelist and his wife cross themselves again and turn back into the night. 37. deceive yourself (that)
- Definition: to refuse to believe that something is true because the truth is unpleasant.
- Example: He didn’t deceive himself that he and Ruth could remain friends. 38. dedicate yourself to
- Definition: to commit your time, effort, and energy toward achieving a goal or excelling in a particular activity.
- Example: If you truly want to become a great musician, you need to dedicate yourself to practicing every day. 39. defend yourself
- Definition: to protect yourself against attack or criticism.
- Example: I'm going to karate lessons to learn how to defend myself. 6 40. delude yourself
- Definition: to believe something that is not true, especially because you want to believe it.
- Example: He's deluding himself if he thinks he's going to be promoted this year. 41. deny yourself
- Definition: to decide not to have something that you would like, especially for moral or religious reasons.
- Example: He denied himself all pleasures and luxuries. 42. despite yourself
- Definition: if you do something despite yourself, you do it although you did not intend to.
- Example: Liz realized that, despite herself, she cared about Edward. 43. devote yourself to
- Definition: to commit your time, energy, or efforts fully to a particular activity, cause, or goal.
- Example: She decided to devote herself to learning medicine so she could help others. 44. distance yourself (from)
- Definition: to say that you are not involved with someone or something, especially to
avoid being connected with them.
- Example: The UNO has firmly distanced itself from the anti-government movement. 45. disport yourself
- Definition: to enjoy yourself, especially by doing physical activity.
- Example: On Sunday afternoons all the bourgeois world of our ville disports itself upon the jetty. 46. distinguish yourself
- Definition: to do something so well that people notice and remember you.
- Example: He distinguished himself on several occasions in the civil war. 47. doll yourself up
- Definition: if a woman dolls herself up, she tries to make herself more attractive by
putting on make-up and special clothes.
- Example: I'm not going to doll myself up just to go shopping. 7
48. drive/run/work yourself into the ground
- Definition: to make yourself tired or ill by working too hard.
- Example: Kay’s working herself into the ground trying to meet her deadlines. 49. efface yourself
- Definition: to behave in a quiet way so that people do not notice or look at you.
- Example: Even though Sarah was the one who solved the problem, she chose to efface
herself and let her team take the credit. 50. enjoy yourself
- Definition: to have a good time.
- Example: I hope you enjoy yourself at the party tonight! 51. ensconce yourself
- Definition: to make yourself very comfortable or safe in a place or position.
- Example: After dinner, I ensconced myself in an armchair with a book. 52. entrench yourself
- Definition: to establish yourself firmly in a position, job, etc. so that it is difficult to remove you.
- Example: The company's management and directors have entrenched themselves by
changing the voting requirements for expansion of the board. 53. establish yourself as
- Definition: to cause yourself to be accepted as being something.
- Example: I spent several years trying to establish myself as a painter. 54. excel yourself
- Definition: to do something better than you usually do.
- Example: The British team have excelled themselves this year to reach the finals. 55. excuse yourself
- Definition: to say politely that you need to leave a place.
- Example: Richard excused himself and went to his room. 56. exert yourself
- Definition: to work very hard and use a lot of physical or mental energy.
- Example: He has exerted himself tirelessly on behalf of the charity. 8 57. express yourself
- Definition: to communicate what you think or feel, by speaking or writing, or in some other way.
- Example: He felt he was unable to express himself freely when his boss was around. 58. explain yourself
- Definition: to tell someone who is angry or upset with you the reasons why you did something.
- Example: I’m going to give you five seconds to explain yourself. 59. explain yourself
- Definition: to say clearly what you mean.
- Example: Sorry, I’m not explaining myself very well. 60. familiarize yourself with
- Definition: to learn about something so that you understand it, or to teach someone else
about something so that they understand it.
- Example: Employees must familiarize themselves with the health and safety manual. 61. fancy yourself
- Definition: to behave in a way that shows you think you are very attractive or clever.
- Example: That bloke on the dance floor really fancies himself. 62. feel sorry for yourself
- Definition: to feel sad because you have a problem and you feel that it is not fair that you are suffering so much.
- Example: I suggested that instead of feeling sorry for herself, she could actually do
something to make the situation better. 63. fend for yourself
- Definition: to look after yourself without needing help from other people.
- Example: The kids had to fend for themselves while their parents were away. 64. find yourself
- Definition: to realize that you are in a particular situation or place, or doing a particular
thing, when you did not intend to.
- Example: He'll find himself with no friends at all if he carries on behaving this way. 9 65. find yourself somewhere
- Definition: to learn you have arrived somewhere.
- Example: We fell asleep in the back of the car and woke up to find ourselves in Atlanta. 66. flatter yourself
- Definition: to believe something about yourself that makes one feel pleased or proud.
- Example: I flatter myself that I'm a good dancer. 67. fling yourself at someone
- Definition: to move suddenly towards someone in order to attack them or hold them.
- Example: He flung himself at her and snatched the bag.
68. fling yourself into something
- Definition: to do something with a lot of enthusiasm.
- Example: Tom has really flung himself into his work this year. 69. fool yourself
- Definition: to try to make yourself believe something that you know is not really true.
- Example: It’s no good fooling yourself. He’s not coming back. 70. forget yourself
- Definition: to do something stupid or embarrassing, especially by losing control of your emotions.
- Example: Lisa forgot herself and reached out to touch his knee. 71. forget yourself in
- Definition: to become so involved in something that you do not think about or notice anything else.
- Example: Often, he would forget himself in his work for hours. 72. fulfill yourself
- Definition: to feel satisfied because you are using all your skills, qualities etc.
- Example: She succeeded in fulfilling herself both as an actress and as a mother. 73. gather yourself
- Definition: to prepare yourself for something you are going to do, especially something difficult.
- Example: I took a few moments to gather my thoughts before going into the meeting. 10 74. help yourself to
- Definition: to take some of what you want, without asking permission – used especially
when offering food to someone.
- Example: Please help yourself to some cake. 75. help yourself to
- Definition: to steal something.
- Example: Obviously he had been helping himself to the money. 76. humble yourself
- Definition: to show that you are not too proud to ask for something, admit you are wrong etc.
- Example: I knew he had humbled himself to ask for my help.
77. ingratiate yourself (with)
- Definition: to try very hard to get someone’s approval – used to show disapproval.
- Example: His policy is to ingratiate himself with anyone who might be useful to him. 78. involve yourself in
- Definition: to take part actively in a particular activity.
- Example: Reilly involves himself in every aspect of his company’s business. 79. justify yourself
- Definition: to provide an explanation for one's actions.
- Example: Why should I have to justify myself when it was their fault? 80. keep to yourself
- Definition: to often avoid other people.
- Example: I was very shy and pretty much kept to myself in school.
81. keep something to yourself
- Definition: do not tell anyone about something.
- Example: The party’s a surprise, so keep it to yourself! 82. kick yourself
- Definition: used to say that you are annoyed with yourself because you have done
something silly, made a mistake etc.
- Example: United will be kicking themselves for missing several chances. 11 83. kid yourself
- Definition: to believe something that is not true, usually because you want it to be true.
- Example: He says there's a good chance she'll come back to him but I think he's kidding himself. 84. let yourself go
- Definition: to relax completely and enjoy yourself.
- Example: For goodness sake, Peter, why don’t you just let yourself go for once? 85. let yourself go
- Definition: to stop looking after yourself properly, for example by not caring about your appearance.
- Example: Poor Dad. He’s really let himself go since Mum died. 86. let yourself in for
- Definition: to become involved in a difficult or unpleasant situation without intending to.
- Example: Do you realize how much extra work you're letting yourself in for? 87. lower yourself
- Definition: to behave in a way that makes people respect you less.
- Example: I wouldn’t lower myself to speak to her after what she’s done. 88. make a name for yourself
- Definition: to become famous or respected by a lot of people,
- Example: He's made a name for himself as a talented journalist. 89. make yourself scarce
- Definition: to go away from a difficult situation in order to avoid trouble.
- Example: Dad's really angry with you, so you'd better make yourself scarce. 90. nerve yourself
- Definition: to make yourself brave enough to do something.
- Example: He took a deep breath, nerved himself, and jumped into the icy waters. 91. not be/seem/feel yourself
- Definition: not to be, seem, or feel as happy or healthy as usual.
- Example: Why don't you go home early if you're not feeling yourself? 12 92. not bring yourself to do
- Definition: to not be able to force yourself to do something that you think is unpleasant.
- Example: I just couldn't bring myself to talk to him about it. 93. orient yourself
- Definition: to find exactly where you are by looking around you or using a map.
- Example: She looked at the street names, trying to orient herself. 94. orient yourself
- Definition: to become familiar with a new situation.
- Example: It takes new students a while to orientate themselves to college life. 95. overreach yourself
- Definition: to fail by trying to achieve, spend, or do more than you can manage.
- Example: Don't go too far and overreach yourself. 96. pace yourself
- Definition: to control the speed that you move at in a race, so that you still have energy left near the end.
- Example: Nicky paced herself and came through the ranks to win. 97. pace yourself
- Definition: to organize your life and activities so that you do not have too much to do.
- Example: You need to pace yourself and decide which tasks are the most important. 98. park yourself in/on
- Definition: to sit down in a particular place, especially with the intention of staying a long time.
- Example: Connie parked herself on the sofa. 99. perjure yourself
- Definition: to tell a lie after promising to tell the truth in a court of law.
- Example: It was true that I would never perjure myself. 100. pinch yourself
- Definition: you say that you have to pinch yourself if you cannot really believe something
that has happened because it is so good or so strange.
- Example: The sunsets are so beautiful you have to pinch yourself to prove you're not dreaming. 13 101. please yourself
- Definition: used when telling someone to do whatever they like, even though really you
think they are making the wrong choice.
- Example: "I don't think I'll go." "Oh, well, please yourself. I'm going anyway." 102. preen yourself
- Definition: to spend time making yourself look tidier and more attractive.
- Example: Roald always spends ages preening himself before he goes out. 103. preen yourself
- Definition: to look proud and feel pleased because of something you have done.
- Example: He enjoyed the applause, preening himself like a pop star. 104. present yourself
- Definition: to arrive somewhere and introduce yourself.
- Example: You should present yourselves at the front desk at 8 o'clock in the morning. 105. prove yourself
- Definition: to show that you are good at something.
- Example: I wish he'd stop trying to prove himself all the time. 106. push yourself forward
- Definition: to try to make other people notice you.
- Example: Rupert was a quiet type, not one to push himself forward. 107. reconcile yourself to
- Definition: to accept a situation or fact although you do not like it.
- Example: She must reconcile herself to the fact that she must do some work if she wants to pass her exams. 108. redeem yourself
- Definition: to do something that will improve what other people think of you, after you have behaved badly or failed.
- Example: He spent the rest of the game trying to redeem himself after a first-minute mistake. 109. reinvent yourself
- Definition: to become a different kind of person, performer, etc.
- Example: She's a classical singer who's trying to reinvent herself as a pop artist. 14 110. repeat yourself
- Definition: to repeat what one has already said.
- Example: Listen carefully because I don’t want to have to repeat myself. 111. resign yourself to
- Definition: to make yourself accept something that you do not like because you cannot change it.
- Example: He resigned himself to living alone. 112. respect yourself
- Definition: to be proud of your own qualities or achievements.
- Example: I like to think I've raised my daughter to respect herself. 113. restrict yourself to
- Definition: to limit yourself to one particular thing or activity.
- Example: If I'm driving, I restrict myself to one glass of wine. 114. say to yourself
- Definition: to try to persuade yourself that something is true or not true.
- Example: I kept saying to myself that this wasn’t really happening. 115. seat yourself
- Definition: to sit somewhere.
- Example: She seemed restless but eventually seated herself beside him. 116. sell yourself
- Definition: to make yourself seem impressive to other people.
- Example: If you want a promotion, you’ve got to sell yourself better. 117. sell yourself short
- Definition: to not consider yourself to be as valuable or good as you deserve.
- Example: Don't sell yourself short – you've got the skills and the experience. 118. shift for yourself
- Definition: to earn your own income or buy and cook your own food, etc.
- Example: He left home at 18 and had to shift for himself. 15 119. speak for yourself
- Definition: to express your own opinion rather than assuming others feel the same way
(often used when someone disagrees with a general statement made by another person).
- Example: "None of us like the hotel." "Speak for yourself – I think it’s OK." 120. steel yourself to do
- Definition: to prepare yourself to do something that you know will be unpleasant or upsetting.
- Example: He steeled himself not to look away. 121. stir yourself (to)
- Definition: to begin taking some action.
- Example: He finally stirred himself and started making dinner. 122. stuff yourself (with) - Definition: to eat a lot.
- Example: They'd been stuffing themselves with snacks all afternoon, so they didn't want any dinner. 123. style yourself something
- Definition: to give yourself a particular title or name.
- Example: They style themselves ‘the terrible twins’. 124. sun yourself
- Definition: to sit or lie outside when the sun is shining.
- Example: The beaches were full of families sunning themselves. 125. top yourself
- Definition: to kill yourself deliberately.
- Example: Alas, I felt the need to top myself each time out.
126. unburden yourself (to somebody)
- Definition: to tell someone your problems, secrets etc. so that you feel better.
- Example: Sometimes he would have liked to unburden himself to somebody, but his
officers and men had their own problems.