Meaning & use
being yourself
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Meaning
phrase
The act of behaving in a way that matches your true personality, opinions, and feelings, rather than pretending to be someone else.
Grammar: Used as a noun phrase; it can be the subject or object of a sentence.
Patterns
- being yourself
- the importance of being yourself
- being yourself around someone
Being yourself is the best way to make real friends.
She finds being yourself at work difficult when everyone else seems so confident.
The teacher told us that being yourself is more important than fitting in.
Common combinations
- being yourself
- Being yourself can be scary at first.
- the key to being yourself
- For him, the key to being yourself is not caring what others think.
- being yourself around someone
- I feel comfortable being yourself around my closest friends.
- being yourself online
- Being yourself online is harder than it sounds.
Synonyms and how they differ
- authenticity
- This is a more formal noun that means the quality of being real and true, often used in discussions of character or art.
- staying true to yourself
- This phrase emphasizes not changing your beliefs or values over time, while 'being yourself' focuses more on your current behavior.
Opposites
Word family
- be yourself phrase
- The base form; an instruction or piece of advice to act naturally.
- self noun
- Your own nature or identity.
Commonly confused: being yourself or by yourself? being yourself or be yourself?
being yourself vs by yourself
'By yourself' means 'alone' or 'without help'. 'Being yourself' means acting naturally, not being alone.
being yourself vs be yourself
This is the base form used as a command or infinitive, while 'being yourself' is the -ing form used as a noun.
Practice
Complete the sentence: ___ is the first step to happiness.
Choose one answer.
'Being yourself' works as a noun phrase subject. 'Be yourself' is a command and cannot be a subject. 'By yourself' means 'alone', which doesn't fit the meaning. 'Yourself' alone is a reflexive pronoun and cannot be a subject here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “being yourself”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.