Meaning & use

in and of itself

phrase·Academic

Considered alone, without reference to anything else or any other context or consequence.

See it in a sentence

The mistake, in and of itself, was minor, but it caused a major delay.

Losing the game is not, in and of itself, a reason to quit the team.

A note on using this word

"In it of itself" is a common informal variant; the standard written form is "in and of itself."

Words with a similar meaning

inherentlyintrinsically

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “in and of itself”, then compare your use with the examples above.

Your draft stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.