personal

adjective

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per·son·al | \ ˈpərs-nəl

, ˈpər-sə-nəl \

Definition of personal

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : of, relating to, or affecting a particular person : private, individual personal ambition personal financial gain

2a : 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

5a : 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

personal

noun

Definition of personal (Entry 2 of 2)

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

Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about personal

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Examples of personal in a Sentence

Adjective 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 on the Web: Adjective Ramos had spent much of his personal and professional life in the East Providence school system. — BostonGlobe.com, 29 May 2021 For psychological preparation, create positive synergy and trust where employees can anticipate their work and personal life. — Expert Panel®, Forbes, 27 May 2021 But even though Stone has privately gone through a lot of personal life changes in the past few years, she's still continued to keep busy at work. — Natalie Morin, refinery29.com, 25 May 2021 Rodrigo has stayed professionally aloof about her personal life, letting the music do the talking. — Raisa Bruner, Time, 24 May 2021 The final episodes of the CBS drama, which filmed in the Crescent City, centered heavily on the personal life of Special Agent Dwayne Pride (Scott Bakula), the leader of the NCIS Big Easy field office. — Bill Keveney, USA TODAY, 24 May 2021 That goes for his personal life, too, even though he has been vaccinated. — Freep.com, 23 May 2021 He was known for his generosity in his personal life too, according to his obituary. — Sara Tabin, The Salt Lake Tribune, 22 May 2021 Brooke’s conflicts, managing professional boundaries while her personal life is quietly collapsing, are of a kind with the earlier seasons. — James Poniewozik, New York Times, 21 May 2021 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun There are three primary types of countertop blenders: conventional, high-performance and personal. — Katy Severson, chicagotribune.com, 11 Apr. 2021 However, Capricorn midheavens can also sometimes end up isolating friends, family, and lovers by prioritizing professional tasks over the personal. — Sophie Saint Thomas, Allure, 4 Apr. 2021 Wojnarowicz made the political personal in 1987, when the photographer Peter Hujar, his mentor and closest companion, died of AIDS. — BostonGlobe.com, 24 Mar. 2021 Firefighters and emergency personal continued to fight the inferno into the early hours of the morning, videos showed. — David Aaro, Fox News, 23 Mar. 2021 And the author of War and Peace would hardly need telling that, for this kind of aristocratic family, the personal is supremely political—in world-historical ways. — Matt Seaton, The New York Review of Books, 9 Mar. 2021 Jennings teased out the personal from what could otherwise have been a sweeping metanarrative of Britain in wartime. — Thomas Page, CNN, 23 Feb. 2021 Despite the large Twitter following on the official accounts, Trump preferred to tweet from his personal @realDonaldTrump account until Twitter permanently suspended his account for violating its policies on glorifying violence. — Tyler Van Dyke, Washington Examiner, 15 Jan. 2021 The paradox of the impersonal personal is the defining trait of Soderbergh’s art. — Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 14 Dec. 2020

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.

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Last Updated

1 Jun 2021

Cite this Entry

“Personal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/personal. Accessed 12 Jun. 2021.

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More Definitions for personal

personal

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of personal

: 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

See the full definition for personal in the English Language Learners Dictionary

personal

adjective

per·son·al | \ ˈpər-sə-nəl

Kids Definition of personal

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.

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