Personal Definition & Meaning

American

British

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms personal American [pur-suh-nl] / ˈpɜr sə nl /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or coming as from a particular person; individual; private.

   a personal opinion.

2. relating to, directed to, or intended for a particular person.

   a personal favor; one's personal life; a letter marked “Personal.”

3. intended for use by one person.

   a personal car.

4. referring or directed to a particular person in a disparaging or offensive sense or manner, usually involving character, behavior, appearance, etc..

   personal remarks.

5. making personal remarks or attacks.

   to become personal in a dispute.

6. done, carried out, held, etc., in person.

   a personal interview.

7. pertaining to or characteristic of a person or self-conscious being.

   That is my personal belief.

8. of the nature of an individual rational being.

9. pertaining to the body, clothing, or appearance.

   personal cleanliness.

10. provided for one's discretionary use.

    Employees are allowed 15 vacation days and two personal days.

11. Grammar.

    1. noting person.

       In Latin portō “I carry,” -ō is a personal ending.

    2. of, relating to, or characteristic of the personal pronoun, as English I, we, you, he, she, it, and they .

12. Law. of or relating to personal property.

    personal interests.

noun

1. 1. a short news paragraph in a newspaper concerning a particular person, as one who is socially prominent, or a group of particular persons who are socially prominent.

   2. a brief, private notice in a newspaper or magazine, often addressed to a particular person, and typically bearing an abbreviated salutation and signature to preserve its confidentiality, usually printed in a special part of the classified advertising section.

   3. Also called personal ad. a similar notice, as in a newspaper or on a website, placed by a person seeking companionship, a spouse, etc.

   4. Usually personals. a column, page, or section, as of a newspaper, magazine, or website, featuring such notices or items.

personal British / ˈpɜːsənəl /

adjective

1. of or relating to the private aspects of a person's life

   personal letters

   a personal question

2. (prenominal) of or relating to a person's body, its care, or its appearance

   personal hygiene

   great personal beauty

3. belonging to or intended for a particular person and no-one else

   as a personal favour

   for your personal use

4. (prenominal) undertaken by an individual himself

   a personal appearance by a celebrity

5. referring to, concerning, or involving a person's individual personality, intimate affairs, etc, esp in an offensive way

   personal remarks

   don't be so personal

6. having the attributes of an individual conscious being

   a personal God

7. of or arising from the personality

   personal magnetism

8. of, relating to, or denoting grammatical person

9. law of or relating to movable property, such as money Compare real 1

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

1. law an item of movable property

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

• hyperpersonal adjective
• hyperpersonally adverb
• multipersonal adjective
• nonpersonal adjective
• nonpersonally adverb
• personalness noun
• quasi-personal adjective
• quasi-personally adverb
• superpersonal adjective
• superpersonally adverb
• unpersonal adjective
• unpersonally adverb

Etymology

Origin of personal

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Late Latin word persōnālis. See person, -al 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

I designed a personal computing triathlon to find out: a swim through dozens of browser tabs, a 3-D cycling obstacle course and an agentic AI run.

From The Wall Street Journal

The glasses—with chunky frames embedded with cameras and microphones—are the way Zuckerberg imagines AI will be democratized for personal users.

From The Wall Street Journal

The core measure of the personal consumption expenditures price index, which strips out food and energy and is closely watched by the Fed, rose 3.1% in January, ahead of December’s 3.0% pace.

From Barron's

"I'm deeply sorry that my past personal mistakes have caused you so much discomfort," Wasserman wrote to the agency's 4,000 employees in the email, which was obtained by the BBC.

From BBC

Inflation shows no sign of cooling, as measured by the January personal consumption expenditures price index, released the same day.

From Barron's

Related Words

• intimate
• particular
• secret
• special

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.