̷ ̷ˈ ̷ ̷, ˌ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ˈ ̷ ̷ pronoun plural
Etymology: Middle English oure selven, our selfs
1. : those identical ones that are we : the selves that belong to us : the selves that are ours — used (1) reflexively as object of a preposition or direct or indirect object of a verb
we're doing it solely for ourselves
busying ourselves only with what concerns us
we're getting ourselves a new home
(2) for emphasis in apposition with we or who
we ourselves will never go
we can speak with some certainty, we who have ourselves had the same experience
(3) for emphasis instead of nonreflexive us as object of a preposition or direct or indirect object of a verb
this pleases ourselves but no one else
(4) for emphasis instead of we or instead of we ourselves as predicate nominative
the only ones that want to do it are ourselves
or in comparisons after than or as
no one knows more about it than ourselves
or as part of a compound subject
our children and ourselves will be glad to come
or archaically or dialectally as only subject of a verb
ourselves were country folk — Elizabeth Dye
(5) in absolute constructions
ourselves hardly able to see what was happening, they shut the door in our face
2. : our normal, healthy, or sane condition
we were groggy for a moment but quickly came to ourselves
: our normal, healthy, or sane selves
we had been ill, but today we are again ourselves