eux-mêmes

Word: eux-mêmes

Explanation:

Eux-mêmes is a French pronoun phrase combining:

• eux: a stressed (disjunctive) pronoun meaning "them" (third person plural masculine or mixed gender)
• mêmes: an emphasis word meaning "selves" or "themselves"

Meaning:

Together, eux-mêmes means "themselves" in English, referring to a group of people (or mixed gender group) emphasizing that the subject acts or refers to their own selves.

It is used for emphasis to stress that "they" are doing or involved in something personally or directly.

Usage:

• Ils l’ont fait eux-mêmes. — "They did it themselves."

Breakdown:

• Eux = them
• Mêmes = selves (plural, agreeing in gender and number with eux)

Synonyms:

• Elles-mêmes — girls or women themselves (feminine plural)
• Sois-même (singular, informal "yourself")
• Soi-même (singular impersonal "oneself")

Antonyms:

No direct antonym as it is an emphasizing reflexive pronoun, but opposite in meaning would be expressing that someone else did the action, e.g.:

• quelqu’un d’autre — somebody else

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Summary:

Eux-mêmes literally means "they themselves" or "themselves", used to emphasize that a group performs an action or refers to their own persons without outside help. It is part of a family of reflexive/emphatic pronouns in French.