What is the meaning of 'per se'.How to use it in a sentence?

Question

thanks

Answer 1

per se means 'by itself'.  

He's not a mechanic, per se, but he is good at fixing the car.

Answer 2

By or on itself or themselves. From the Latin. A monkey cannot fly, per se; it would require an aircraft or a catapult.

Answer 3

"As such"  means basically "literally."  

He's not a jazz musician per se, but its very jazzy music.    

Answer 4

per se (pr s, s) adv. Of, in, or by itself or oneself; intrinsically.

Origin :[Latin per s : per, per + s, itself.]

Meaning & Example:

with respect to its inherent nature; "this statement is interesting per se"

AJM

Answer 5

i like teaching a monkey to fly per se

Answer 6

From Latin per se (“‘by itself’”), from per (“‘by, through’”), and se (“‘itself, himself, herself, themselves’”).

By itself; without consideration of extraneous factors

Because this is a Latin phrase, it is usually italicized when written

(obsolete since spelling reform of 1995) persé

per se (sometimes misspelled "per say" or "persay") is:

A Latin phrase used in English arguments for "by itself" or "by themselves"

Latin borrowing meaning "in and of itself", used in certain fairly specific, idiomatic contexts in casual English. Is typically used with a negative to indicate that a term being used is understood to be imprecise or off-the-mark (i.e., not accurate 'per se') in a case where the term is nevertheless useful to an explanation. Usually followed by an explanation or justification for the use of the term indicated.

It is as well sometimes used preceding a term indicated, especially in more formal (e.g., legal) usage. In these contexts, usually used in the positive to reinforce a characterisation as fundamentally being the case (i.e., 'per se' accurate).

"It's not that I consider it a 'joke' per se. It's just that I don't think it takes the subject quite seriously enough, under the circumstances."

"Sexual advances toward a minor are without exception per se illegal in this state. This is not open to question or challenge."

  

"as such" or "by" but really it seems to be used as a pause in a sentence.

Synonym for "exactly" or "quite."

I wouldn't call her short, per se. Maybe vertically challenged.

A Pretentious term, often used both out of context and too often by people who would like to sound more intelligent than they actually are.

a phrase that allows some flexibility in the topic at hand, so you can talk about something without being very specific

i wouldn't say it's a psuedo box, per se, but i digress, i really do

with respect to its inherent nature;

Can be used to mean "as such", "sort of" and "just about" but the phrase may not fit into the context of such uses.

"this statement is interesting per se"

Answer 7

Its Latin for "in itself" or "with reference to itself" in other words youre talking specifically about the subject in question and not about things related to the subject.

"Third world countries arent dangerous, per se, everywhere is dangerous no matter where you go."

Answer 8

Definition:

It's a Latin phrase meaning -  of, in, or by itself or oneself; intrinsically.

http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dic...

Usage:

"It's not that I consider it a joke per se. It's just that I don't think it takes the subject quite seriously enough, under the circumstances."

Answer 9

"Its like teaching a monkey to fly, per se"