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Glite Dictionary
to be oneself

to be oneself

4 2.8
To act naturally and honestly without pretending to be someone else
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : ser uno mismo
  • And I realise now I just have to be myself.

Examples

  • Marlise has to be herself and wear what she would normally wear.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • - The one place she can be herself.

    S1m0ne (2002)

  • I guess I just try to be myself.

    The Substance (2024)

  • You just got to be yourself.

    American Royalty (2022)

  • I could just be myself.

    North of the 10 (2022)

  • It's not going to be live, so just, like, relax and be yourself.

    Livescreamers (2023)

  • What every modern girl should know is how to be herself.

    Academic text (2016)

  • When Frankie's father is away and she is at home with just her stepmother, school is one of the only places she can be herself.

    Academic text (1998)

  • It is kind of nice, not having to hide anything, just being myself, knowing he isn't hiding anything from me.

    Sparks! (2018)

  • In his new job, he feels free to be himself without worrying about others' opinions.

Synonyms

to keep it real
vsto be oneself
  • Slang
34 8.3

Stay honest and true to yourself

acts naturally without trying to meet others expectations
to do one's own thing
vsto be oneself
  • Jargon
15 4.2

Act on your own without following what other people want

chooses natural genuine behavior instead of mere independence

Antonyms

to pretend
∞ 2.3

To act as if something is true when it is not

to conform
96 3.2

Think and act like other people or follow rules

How Natural

natural
660 1.0
to be oneself
4 2.8
relaxedly
4.2

Surface Forms

be oneself infinitive
was oneself past
been oneself past participle
being oneself present participle
is oneself third person singular

Morphology

be + oneself

The meaning 'to act in a natural and genuine way' is directly derivable from combining 'be' (to exist/act as) with 'oneself' (one's own self); a learner who knows both constituents can infer the intended sense. This construction is cross-linguistically common (e.g. Spanish 'ser uno mismo', French 'être soi‑même'), so it will be transparent to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Be oneself paints a simple picture: imagine taking off a mask or costume and showing your real face instead of acting a part. So to be oneself means 'to act naturally' and not pretend to be someone else.