What does ourselves mean?
Ourselves means (reflexive) Us; the group including the speaker as the object of a verb or preposition when that group also is the subject..
Ourselves
/aʊəˈsɛlvz/ · pronoun
Meaning
(reflexive) Us; the group including the speaker as the object of a verb or preposition when that group also is the subject..
Definitions by Sense
- (reflexive) Us; the group including the speaker as the object of a verb or preposition when that group also is the subject.
- (emphatic) Intensifies the subject as the group including the speaker, especially to indicate that no one else satisfies the predicate or needs to be included.
- (colloquial) Referring to everyone being addressed.
- (colloquial, may seem patronising) Referring to an individual person being addressed, especially a person in the speaker's care; also ourself.
Example Sentences
We should keep this for ourselves.
Let's not beat ourselves up over this.
We did it ourselves.
Come on everyone! Let's get ourselves up and out of bed, please.
Now then children, I'm not going to help you with the next problem. We should be able to work this one out ourselves.
Coordinate term: nurse's we
Hello Mrs Miggins. Did we manage to wash ourselves this morning?
Well done Timmy! Did we make that model ourselves?
Synonyms for ourselves
Antonyms for ourselves
Related Words
Word Forms
- case of we
Usage Notes
Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.
Practice and Learn More
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a synonym for ourselves?
Common synonyms include usself, weself.
What is the opposite of ourselves?
The opposite depends on the specific sense.
How do you use ourselves in a sentence?
We should keep this for ourselves.
Sources & Attribution
FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.