pronoun

noun

pro·​noun ˈprō-ˌnau̇n How to pronounce pronoun (audio)
1
plural pronouns : any of a small set of words (such as I, she, he, you, it, we, or they) in a language that are used as substitutes for nouns or noun phrases and whose referents are named or understood in the context
2
pronouns plural : the third person personal pronouns (such as he/him, she/her, and they/them) that a person goes by
What are your pronouns?
"I'm Jo, my pronouns are she/her." "I'm Jade, my pronouns are they/them."
… many people with nonbinary genders use "they" and "their" pronouns, although language and gender expression vary widely.Lucy Brisbane

Did you know?

What is a pronoun?

A pronoun is a word that is used instead of a noun or noun phrase. Pronouns refer to either a noun that has already been mentioned or to a noun that does not need to be named specifically.

The most common pronouns are the personal pronouns, which refer to the person or people speaking or writing (first person), the person or people being spoken to (second person), or other people or things (third person). Like nouns, personal pronouns can function as either the subject of a verb or the object of a verb or preposition: "She likes him, but he loves her." Most of the personal pronouns have different subject and object forms:

pronoun table

There are a number of other types of pronouns. The interrogative pronouns—particularly what, which, who, whom, and whose—introduce questions for which a noun is the answer, as in "Which do you prefer?"

Possessive pronouns refer to things or people that belong to someone. The main possessive pronouns are mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, and theirs.

The four demonstrative pronounsthis, that, these, and those—distinguish the person or thing being referred to from other people or things; they are identical to the demonstrative adjectives.

Relative pronouns introduce a subordinate clause, a part of a sentence that includes a subject and verb but does not form a sentence by itself. The main relative pronouns are that, which, who, whom, what, and whose.

Reflexive pronouns refer back to the subject of a sentence or clause and are formed by adding -self or -selves to a personal pronoun or possessive adjective, as in myself, herself, ourselves, and itself.

Indefinite pronouns, such as everybody, either, none, and something, do not refer to a specific person or thing, and typically refer to an unidentified or unfamiliar person or thing.

The words it and there can also be used like pronouns when the rules of grammar require a subject but no noun is actually being referred to. Both are usually used at the beginning of a sentence or clause, as in "It was almost noon" and "There is some cake left." These are sometimes referred to as expletives.

Examples of pronoun in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Relatives said Benedict also used the pronouns they and them. USA TODAY, 2 Mar. 2024 Friends said Nex was transgender and primarily went by he/him pronouns at school but also used they/them pronouns, which Nex's family also used. Jo Yurcaba, NBC News, 27 Feb. 2024 Catherine, who uses the pronouns they/them and asked that their full name be withheld due to the sensitive nature of job hunting, had adequate savings and a partner with health insurance. Lauren Goode, WIRED, 22 Feb. 2024 Researchers from Stanford recently analyzed more than 650,000 academic articles published between 2007 and 2023 and found a 50% increase in instances where other researchers used human pronouns to refer to technology. Popular Science, 21 Feb. 2024 What other Milwaukee area school districts have passed policies about student names and pronouns? Alec Johnson, Journal Sentinel, 16 Feb. 2024 Read Next National High school athlete was forced to keep running in sweltering heat and died, lawsuit says January 18, 2024 12:00 PM Read Next National School helped child transition with new pronouns, Michigan parents say. Mike Stunson, Kansas City Star, 15 Feb. 2024 Relatives of the 10th-grader, who used they/them pronouns, said Benedict had been bullied over their gender identity, per the Washington Post. Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 21 Feb. 2024 The 16-year-old sophomore has been identified on a GoFundMe campaign created by family as Nex Benedict, who uses they/them pronouns. Nicole Acosta, Peoplemag, 21 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pronoun.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin pronomin-, pronomen, from pro- for + nomin-, nomen name — more at pro-, name

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of pronoun was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near pronoun

Cite this Entry

“Pronoun.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pronoun. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

pronoun

noun
pro·​noun ˈprō-ˌnau̇n How to pronounce pronoun (audio)
: a word that is used as a substitute for a noun

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