oneself

oneself
[[t]wʌnse̱lf[/t]]
(Oneself is a third person singular reflexive pronoun.)
1) PRON-REFL A speaker or writer uses oneself as the object of a verb or preposition in a clause where `oneself' meaning `me' or `any person in general' refers to the same person as the subject of the verb. [FORMAL]

One must apply oneself to the present and keep one's eyes firmly fixed on one's future goals...

To work one must have time to oneself.

2) PRON-REFL Oneself can be used as the object of a verb or preposition, when `one' is not present but is understood to be the subject of the verb. [FORMAL]

The historic feeling of the town makes it a pleasant place to base oneself for summer vacations...

The only guarantee of having a cabin to oneself is by travelling first class...

It's so easy to feel sorry for oneself...

The doll-like figures in these stories are unlike anybody, let alone oneself.

3) PRON-REFL-EMPH To do something oneself means to do it without any help from anyone else. [FORMAL]

It is a very rewarding exercise to work this out oneself...

Some things one must do oneself.

Syn:
4) PRON-REFL-EMPH (emphasis) You use oneself to emphasize that something happens to you rather than to people in general. [FORMAL]

It is better to die oneself than to kill.

5) by oneself → see by

English dictionary. 2008.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • oneself — [wun΄self′, wunz΄self′] pron. a person s own self: also one s self be oneself 1. to function physically and mentally as one normally does 2. to be natural or sincere by oneself alone; unaccompanied; withdrawn come to oneself 1 …   English World dictionary

  • Oneself — One self (w[u^]n s[e^]lf ), pron. A reflexive form of the indefinite pronoun one. Commonly written as two words, one s self. [1913 Webster] One s self (or more properly oneself), is quite a modern form. In Elizabethan English we find a man s self …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • oneself — 1540s, one s self. Hyphenated 18c.; written as one word from c.1827, on model of himself, itself, etc …   Etymology dictionary

  • oneself — ► PRONOUN (third person sing. ) 1) (reflexive ) used as the object of a verb or preposition when this is the same as the subject of the clause and the subject is ‘one’. 2) (emphatic ) used to emphasize that one does something individually or… …   English terms dictionary

  • oneself */ — UK [wʌnˈself] / US pronoun formal Summary: Oneself is a reflexive pronoun, which can be used in the following ways: as an object that refers back to the pronoun one when it is the subject of the sentence: One should be careful not to hurt oneself …   English dictionary

  • oneself — one|self [ wʌn self ] pronoun MAINLY BRITISH FORMAL Oneself is a reflexive pronoun, which can be used in the following ways: as an object that refers back to the pronoun one when it is the subject of the sentence: One should be careful not to… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • oneself — /wun self , wunz /, pron. 1. a person s self (used for emphasis or reflexively): One often hurts oneself accidentally. 2. be oneself, a. to be in one s normal state of mind or physical condition. b. to be unaffected and sincere: One makes more… …   Universalium

  • oneself — one•self or one s self [[t]wʌnˈsɛlf, wʌnz [/t]] pron. a person s self (used as a reflexive or emphatic form of one): One should be able to laugh at oneself[/ex] • be oneself by oneself Etymology: 1540–50 …   From formal English to slang

  • oneself — [wʌnˈself] pronoun British formal 1) the REFLEXIVE form of ‘one , used for showing that people in general, including yourself, are affected by something that they do One has to think of oneself in these matters.[/ex] 2) used for emphasizing that… …   Dictionary for writing and speaking English

  • oneself — pron. the reflexive and (in apposition) emphatic form of one (kill oneself; one has to do it oneself) …   Useful english dictionary

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