as in natures
the set of qualities that makes a person, a group of people, or a thing different from others
some believe that it's only in times of great stress that a person's true self is revealed
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of selves
In Love Letters from Versions of Myself, Samuels promises a candid look at the life viewers have witnessed on the show, with each of seven chapters framed through a love letter addressed to her past, present and future selves.
—
Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 4 Jan. 2026
The $1,000 will go a long way to making sure kids are showing up as their best selves in school.
—Bo Evans, CBS News, 23 Dec. 2025
The Vikings looked like their dominant selves from a season ago, and a pregame message from head coach Kevin O'Connell could be a main reason why.
—Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 9 Dec. 2025
The group session prompts the young men to reflect on their family dynamics and their childhood selves.
—Bridget Fogarty, jsonline.com, 9 Dec. 2025
Our fantasies of another art form might really be about experimenting with alternate selves—a creative act in itself?
—Literary Hub, 8 Dec. 2025
In this fabulously absurd tale set in Prague, a woman named Kinga splits into seven selves, each assigned to one weekday—and each with her own agenda.
—Brianne Kane, Scientific American, 4 Dec. 2025
None of these players have quite looked like their prime selves, although Harden and Leonard still seem capable of conjuring some of that old All-Star magic.
—Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Dec. 2025
Unrecognisable during that run of defeats, Slot’s team suddenly look far more like their old selves.
—Oliver Kay, New York Times, 8 Nov. 2025
Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 4 Jan. 2026
The $1,000 will go a long way to making sure kids are showing up as their best selves in school.
—Bo Evans, CBS News, 23 Dec. 2025
The Vikings looked like their dominant selves from a season ago, and a pregame message from head coach Kevin O'Connell could be a main reason why.
—Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 9 Dec. 2025
The group session prompts the young men to reflect on their family dynamics and their childhood selves.
—Bridget Fogarty, jsonline.com, 9 Dec. 2025
Our fantasies of another art form might really be about experimenting with alternate selves—a creative act in itself?
—Literary Hub, 8 Dec. 2025
In this fabulously absurd tale set in Prague, a woman named Kinga splits into seven selves, each assigned to one weekday—and each with her own agenda.
—Brianne Kane, Scientific American, 4 Dec. 2025
None of these players have quite looked like their prime selves, although Harden and Leonard still seem capable of conjuring some of that old All-Star magic.
—Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Dec. 2025
Unrecognisable during that run of defeats, Slot’s team suddenly look far more like their old selves.
—Oliver Kay, New York Times, 8 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for selves
Noun
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Hval’s restless melodies and at-times Proustian lyrics trail cigarette smoke or the fragrance of roses toward litanies of memory, all the while deconstructing the very natures of stage performance, recording technology, and digital existence.—
Jenn Pelly,
Time,
4 Dec. 2025
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The world features beautifully ethereal landscapes as well as industrial facilities that feel functional and fully realized despite their alien natures.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
2 Dec. 2025
Noun
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In 2020, Lawrence celebrated her 30th birthday and received a sweet message from Kris Jenner, the matriarch of the media personalities.—
Christina Dugan Ramirez,
FOXNews.com,
9 Nov. 2025
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Back when Lyft announced Women Connect, other alt-right personalities, including influencer Tomi Lahren, blasted the program.—
Rebecca Schneid,
Time,
8 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The new doll is part of Mattel’s Fashionistas collection, which includes dolls with a diverse range of skin tones, hair textures, body types and health conditions, including type 1 diabetes, Down syndrome and blindness.—
Jacqueline Howard,
CNN Money,
12 Jan. 2026
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Indeed, the diverse lush tones joined forces with the suffocating heat of the jungle to disguise an essential monotony, the primary function of which was to drive crazy anyone who might be inclined to formulate an original thought.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
12 Jan. 2026
Noun
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But in the second season of the series, which wrapped last Sunday, a new sense of uncertainty, reflection, and maturity grips the central characters, making for even better television.—
Michael M. Rosen,
The Washington Examiner,
9 Jan. 2026
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Despite the cesspits of conspiracy-think that pollute contemporary politics, the specific paranoia of Letts’s characters — bugs under the skin, brainwashing, nefarious doctors in government labs — feels less blazingly relevant than comparatively quaint.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
9 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Selves.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/selves. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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