ourselves
ourselves Lexical Profile
ourselves Game Scores & Validity
• pronoun
Used as the object of a verb or preposition when the speaker and one or more other people are both the subject and the object of the action (the reflexive plural form of 'we').
"We prepared ourselves thoroughly for the upcoming academic conference."
Used for emphasis to mean 'we' or 'us' personally, and nobody else (the intensive or emphatic plural form of 'we').
"Instead of hiring a contractor, we built the backyard greenhouse ourselves."
In our normal, customary, or healthy state of mind or body.
"After a full night of rest, we finally felt like ourselves again."
Word Nuance & Usage
Like other reflexive pronouns, 'ourselves' should not be used as the subject of a verb in standard English (e.g., use 'My partner and I attended' rather than 'My partner and ourselves attended').
• Rhymes for ourselves
Word Origin & Etymology
Formed in Middle English as a compound of the possessive pronoun 'our' and 'selves' (the plural of 'self'), superseding the earlier dative construction 'us self'.