Meanings
present singular third person pulls oneself together · participle present pulling oneself together · participle past pulled oneself together · past pulled oneself together
- idiomaticreflexiveTo become mentally focused after a period of being unfocused; to regain control of oneself
1 more example
"Damn, damn, damnation!" he murmured, together with such other words as he had learnt from older men. Then he raised his hand to his forehead and said, "Oh, damn it all—" which meant something different. He pulled himself together. He drank a little tea, black and silent, that still survived upon an upper shelf. He swallowed some dusty crumbs of cake. Then he went back to the sitting-room, settled himself anew, and began to read a volume of Ruskin.
1910, E. M. Forster, chapter 6, in Howards EndSynonyms: pull one's shit together
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo become mentally focused after a period of being unfocused; to regain control of oneself
Translations
Bulgarian идвам на себе си
- идвам на себе си (idvam na sebe si)to become mentally focused after a period of being unfocused
Chinese Mandarin 振作起來 /振作起来, 鎮定下來 /镇定下来
- 振作起來 /振作起来 (zhènzuò qǐlái)to become mentally focused after a period of being unfocused
- 鎮定下來 /镇定下来 (zhèndìng xiàlái)to become mentally focused after a period of being unfocused
Finnish ryhdistäytyä, koota itsensä
- ryhdistäytyäto become mentally focused after a period of being unfocused
- koota itsensäto become mentally focused after a period of being unfocused
French se ressaisir, se reprendre en main
- se ressaisirto become mentally focused after a period of being unfocused
- se reprendre en mainto become mentally focused after a period of being unfocused
German sich zusammenreißen
- sich zusammenreißento become mentally focused after a period of being unfocused
Hungarian összeszedi magát
- összeszedi magátto become mentally focused after a period of being unfocused
Icelandic stramma sig af
- stramma sig afto become mentally focused after a period of being unfocused
Italian ricomporsi
- ricomporsito become mentally focused after a period of being unfocused
Japanese 気を取り直す
- 気を取り直す (ki o torinaosu)to become mentally focused after a period of being unfocused
Latin mē recolligō
- mē recolligōto become mentally focused after a period of being unfocused
Polish brać się w garść, wziąć się w garść
- brać się w garśćto become mentally focused after a period of being unfocused
- wziąć się w garśćto become mentally focused after a period of being unfocused
- ogarniać sięto become mentally focused after a period of being unfocused
- ogarnąć sięto become mentally focused after a period of being unfocused
Portuguese recompor-se
- recompor-seto become mentally focused after a period of being unfocused
Romanian aduna, reveni
- adunato become mentally focused after a period of being unfocused
- revenito become mentally focused after a period of being unfocused
Russian приходи́ть в себя́, прийти́ в себя́
- приходи́ть в себя́ (prixodítʹ v sebjá)to become mentally focused after a period of being unfocused
- прийти́ в себя́ (prijtí v sebjá)to become mentally focused after a period of being unfocused
- собира́ться (sobirátʹsja)to become mentally focused after a period of being unfocused
- собра́ться (sobrátʹsja)to become mentally focused after a period of being unfocused
- брать себя́ в ру́ки (bratʹ sebjá v rúki)to become mentally focused after a period of being unfocused
- взять себя́ в ру́ки (vzjatʹ sebjá v rúki)to become mentally focused after a period of being unfocused
Spanish recobrar la compostura, recomponerse
- recobrar la composturato become mentally focused after a period of being unfocused
- recomponerseto become mentally focused after a period of being unfocused
- hacer de tripas corazónto become mentally focused after a period of being unfocused
Swedish samla sig, skärpa sig
- samla sigto become mentally focused after a period of being unfocused
- skärpa sigto become mentally focused after a period of being unfocused
Cite this entry
pull oneself together. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pull%20oneself%20together
“pull oneself together.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pull%20oneself%20together. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pull oneself together,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pull%20oneself%20together.
Source: pull oneself together on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.