- (the reflexive form of one) used as the object of a verb or preposition when ‘one’ is the subject of the verb or is understood as the subject
- One has to ask oneself what the purpose of the exercise is.
- One cannot choose freedom for oneself without choosing it for others.
- It is difficult to make oneself concentrate for long periods.
- used to emphasize one
- One likes to do it oneself.
One and oneself are very formal words and now sound old-fashioned. It is much more usual to use you and yourself for referring to people in general and I and myself when the speaker is referring to himself or herself.
Idioms
See oneself in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee oneself in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishbe oneself
- to be in a normal state of body and mind, not influenced by other people
- One needs space to be oneself.
(all) by oneself
- alone; without anyone else
- Meditating by oneself is also beneficial.
- without help
- Trying to manage all these changes by oneself is no good.
(all) to oneself
- not shared with anyone
- Performance, even privately to oneself, is an art.
Check pronunciation:
oneself