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Glite Dictionary
in and of itself

in and of itself

53 6.0
When you consider something alone without other things
  • idiom
translation icon : en sí mismo
  • The resulting research examines an aspect of faculty work as an end in and of itself.
  • sufficient in and of itself
  • appreciated in and of itself
  • bad in and of itself

Now forgiveness in and of itself is not a bad thing.

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Examples

  • That in and of itself is a life altering event.

  • Knowing that you could is in and of itself amazing.

    Tom Bilyeu

  • So that was quite a challenge in and of itself to be able to do that.

  • And just that in and of itself is really ridiculous.

  • Now forgiveness in and of itself is not a bad thing.

    DoctorRamani

  • Because that in and of itself is no small feat.

  • Perhaps the joy of effort in movement is a sufficient reward in and of itself.

    Academic text (1992)

  • It is not in and of itself a policy organ.

    Lex Fridman

  • In this definition, the existence of impairment in and of itself does not constitute a disability.

    Academic text (2015)

  • The decision to move forward, in and of itself, was a significant step for the team.

Synonyms

alone
vsin and of itself
289 1.0

The only one of its kind with no equal

means considering something separately, not claiming uniqueness or superiority
separately
vsin and of itself
148 2.1

Each person does it alone rather than together

stresses single consideration without other factors, not mere physical separation
individually
vsin and of itself
136 2.5

Happening one at a time and not with others

emphasizes considering one case separately from other influencing factors
independently
vsin and of itself
121 2.9

Without help from other people

refers to isolated consideration rather than to acting without help
per se
vsin and of itself
  • Formal
78 7.5

By itself, without considering other things

is identical in meaning with no difference shown in the descriptions
in its own right
vsin and of itself
22 4.6

To be important or good without help from someone else

focuses on considering something separately rather than on independent status

Antonyms

together with
220 1.0

With someone or something else

in perspective
57 4.4

When you compare it with other things, you see how important it is

Surface Forms

in and of itself positive

Morphology

in + and + of + itself

The meaning 'considered alone; by itself' is directly recoverable from the constituent meanings (compare the simpler and common phrase 'in itself' = 'by itself'); the insertive 'and of' is a formal/redundant link that does not change the compositional sense. Cross-linguistic equivalents (e.g. Spanish 'en sí mismo', French 'en soi') and the transparent relation between 'in'/'of' + 'itself' make the expression immediately understandable to learners who know the parts.

Etymology

In and of itself may come from an old way of speaking where writers put two similar small words, in and of, together to be extra clear about the thing alone. So, it is used to say something is 'by itself' or 'considered alone'.