personality
Americannoun
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personalities
plural
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the visible aspect of one's character as it impresses others.
He has a pleasing personality.
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a person as an embodiment of a collection of qualities.
He is a curious personality.
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Psychology.
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the sum total of the physical, mental, emotional, and social characteristics of an individual.
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the organized pattern of behavioral characteristics of the individual.
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the quality of being a person; existence as a self-conscious human being; personal identity.
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the essential character of a person.
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something apprehended as reflective of or analogous to a distinctive human personality, as the atmosphere of a place or thing.
This house has a warm personality.
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a famous, notable, or prominent person; celebrity.
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application or reference to a particular person or particular persons, often in disparagement or hostility.
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a disparaging or offensive statement referring to a particular person.
The political debate deteriorated into personalities.
noun
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psychol the sum total of all the behavioural and mental characteristics by means of which an individual is recognized as being unique
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the distinctive character of a person that makes him socially attractive
a salesman needs a lot of personality
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a well-known person in a certain field, such as sport or entertainment
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a remarkable person
the old fellow is a real personality
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the quality of being a unique person
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the distinctive atmosphere of a place or situation
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(often plural) a personal remark
Synonym Usage
See character.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of personality
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English personalite, from Middle French, from Late Latin persōnālitās, from Latin persōnāl(is) personal + -itās -ity
Explanation
Your personality is what makes you "you" — the combination of characteristics that make you unique. Despite sharing some of the same genes, your siblings may have different personalities from you. You may be outgoing and upbeat, your sister may be quiet and reserved, and your brother may be a perennial pessimist. A personality can also refer to someone who is well known in a certain field — such as a sports or television personality.
Vocabulary lists containing personality
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Psychology
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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.
See Examples For:
"I actually think she has the right personality to deal with it," Croft said.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
England star and Newcastle captain Dan Burn rang the starter's bell, with famous faces including football personality Chris Kamara and fitness coach Joe Wicks taking on the challenge.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
Recruiters responsible for hiring style advisers judge candidates on several criteria, including motivation, values and personality.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
Until the most recent episode, though, Alice’s entire personality has been scowls and deprecating hisses.
From Salon ● Sep. 10, 2026
This caused him to mistrust all purely rational descriptions of human behavior as incompatible with the more passionate stirrings he felt within his own personality.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
Questions poured forth afterward about leadership, difficult personalities, education, institutional blindness, younger generations and whether children would still be able to distinguish between what is real and what is synthetic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
The Tates have denied all the allegations and say their online personas are not their real personalities.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026
Fox is more than a stable of personalities.
From Salon ● Sep. 5, 2026
Several top officials this term—including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia—were previously Fox personalities.
From Slate ● Sep. 4, 2026
Standing on the edge of the holding ponds, they gave the young fish silly names, and invented personalities for them.
From "Son" by Lois Lowry
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.
