personal

adjective per·son·al \ ˈpərs-nəl , ˈpər-sə-nəl \

|Updated on: 11 Aug 2018

Examples: personal in a Sentence

Definition of personal

1 : of, relating to, or affecting a particular person : private, individual

personal ambition

personal financial gain

2 a : done in person without the intervention of another; also : proceeding from a single person

b : carried on between individuals directly

a personal interview

3 : relating to the person or body

4 : relating to an individual or an individual's character, conduct, motives, or private affairs often in an offensive manner

a personal insult

5 a : being rational and self-conscious

personal, responsive government is still possible
—John Fischer

b : having the qualities of a person rather than a thing or abstraction

a personal devil

6 : of, relating to, or constituting personal property

a personal estate

7 : denoting grammatical person

8 : intended for private use or use by one person

a personal stereo

See personal defined for English-language learners

See personal defined for kids

Examples of personal in a Sentence

This is just my personal opinion.
I can only tell you what I know from personal experience.
He added his own personal touches to the recipe.
We don't accept personal checks.
He is a personal friend of mine.
She is always concerned about her personal appearance.
We provide each of our customers with personal service.
Golf is a personal interest of mine.
May I ask you a personal question?
That information is very personal, and you have no business asking about it.

Recent Examples of personal from the Web

Companies can leverage great personal stories to connect with customers, said Keith Hollingsworth, a professor at Morehouse College's business department.

— candice choi, chicagotribune.com, "Papa John is gone, but his image is still entwined with pizza chain," 12 July 2018
Rather, personal stories are more likely to help people in addiction treatment and recovery stay off drugs.

— matthew glowicki, The Courier-Journal, "Do those real-life addiction stories really keep kids off drugs?," 12 July 2018
The regulator also slapped a fine on an advice site for new parents, which shared personal data with the Labour Party.

— The Economist, "Business this week," 12 July 2018
The breach compromised the personal data, including Social Security numbers and credit card information, of 143 million Americans.

— alex soderstrom, ajc, "Macy’s says hackers accessed customer credit card information," 12 July 2018
This type of personal data can be used in marketing and advertising.

— brittany shoot, Fortune, "Facebook Closes Loophole That Revealed Personal Data of People in 'Closed' Groups," 12 July 2018
The best response when the public turns your personal life into a meme?

— leah rodriguez, The Cut, "Rihanna Responds to Memes of Her Arguing With Boyfriend With a Meme of Her Own," 12 July 2018
For much of the night, Myers and Bryce largely traded personal stories or sharp lines about their economic policies.

— david weigel, Washington Post, "In Wisconsin, a Democratic star finds himself in a primary brawl," 9 July 2018
Everyone has darkness in their lives, no matter how happy their personal story appears from the outside.

— brendan leonard, Outside Online, "Learning to Be Funny," 9 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'personal.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of personal

Middle English, from Anglo-French personel, from Late Latin personalis, from Latin persona

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

personal Synonyms

personal

noun

Definition of personal

1 : a short newspaper paragraph relating to the activities of a person or a group or to personal matters

2 : a short personal communication in a special column of the classified ads section of a newspaper or periodical

3 : personal foul

Recent Examples of personal from the Web

Some dating sites and Craigslist’s personals page have already fallen victim to the new laws.

— susan elizabeth shepard, Vox, "It’s International Whores’ Day. Let’s talk about why strippers need better labor laws.," 1 June 2018
Police found that the boy had posted an ad on Craigslist.org under Hartford/personals/casual encounters.

— jesse leavenworth, courant.com, "Manchester Man Faces Federal Child Porn Charges," 26 Apr. 2018
The online site, which features free classified ads for everything from jobs to housing to dump trucks, shut down its personals sections Friday for U.S. sites.

— don sweeney, sacbee, "Craigslist ditches personals ads following passage of sex-trafficking law | The Sacramento Bee," 25 Mar. 2018
On the 40-yard dash, try for personal bests in both attempts because the times are averaged, but decelerate gradually to avoid pulling a muscle.

— liz clarke, chicagotribune.com, "'Super agents' rep 75 percent of NFL players. It's a competitive fight to sign the rest.," 20 Apr. 2018
One of them feels personal: Gomes cast his girlfriend and best friend to portray a couple getting engaged on a beach.

— muri assunção, Billboard, "Meet Nuno Gomes, the Director Behind Videos From Latin Superstars Ozuna and Natti Natasha," 21 May 2018
In one sting, a deputy posted an ad in the personals section on doublelist.com.

— david harris, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Operation reduces crime, drug overdoses, sheriff's office says," 18 May 2018
The Pacers had a foul to give, but Thaddeus Young, wearing five personals, was not the wisest choice as James' defender.

— bill livingston, cleveland.com, "Cleveland Cavaliers 2018: James' 44-point, last-shot masterpiece wins Game 5: Bill Livingston (photos)," 26 Apr. 2018
But in the current fiscal year, lawmakers cut the budget for the program in half, to about $3.6 million, and its staff of mediators, supervisors and support personal was reduced to 20 from 50.

— kenneth r. gosselin, courant.com, "Future Is Uncertain For State's Groundbreaking Foreclosure Mediation Program," 26 Apr. 2018

First Known Use of personal

1860

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

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PERSONAL Defined for English Language Learners

personal

adjective

Definition of personal for English Language Learners

: belonging or relating to a particular person
: made or designed to be used by one person
—used to describe someone whose job involves working for or helping a particular person

PERSONAL Defined for Kids

personal

adjective per·son·al \ ˈpər-sə-nəl \

Definition of personal for Students

1 : of, relating to, or belonging to an individual human being : not public : not general

personal property

2 : made or done by a particular individual and not by someone acting for him or her

The mayor made a personal appearance.

3 : of the body

Take precautions for personal safety.

4 : relating to someone's private matters

May I ask you a personal question?

5 : intended for or given to one particular individual

I received personal service.

6 : relating to a particular individual or his or her qualities often in a way that is hurtful

I took the remark as a personal insult.

—

personally

adverb

Law Dictionary

personal

adjective per·son·al

legal Definition of personal

1 : of, relating to, or affecting a person: as

a : of, relating to, or based on the existence or presence of a person — see also personal injury, personal jurisdiction at jurisdiction

b : of, relating to, or restricted to a natural person and his or her rights, obligations, affairs, assets, or lifetime

refused to disclose personal information

released on personal recognizance

2 : of, relating to, or constituting personal property

personal effects

— see also personal property at property — compare real

—

personally

adverb

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personal

Definition of personal

Examples of personal in a Sentence

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personal

Definition of personal

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PERSONAL Defined for English Language Learners

personal

Definition of personal for English Language Learners

PERSONAL Defined for Kids

personal

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personally

Law Dictionary

personal

legal Definition of personal

personally

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