personally

American  

[pur-suh-nl-ee] / ˈpɜr sə nl i /

adverb

1. through direct contact; in person; directly.

   I will thank him personally.

2. as if intended for or directed at one's own person.

   to take someone's comments personally.

3. as regards oneself.

   Personally, I don't care to go.

4. as an individual.

   to like someone personally, but not as an employer.

---

personally British  

/ ˈpɜːsənəlɪ /

adverb

1. without the help or intervention of others

   I'll attend to it personally

2. (sentence modifier) in one's own opinion or as regards oneself

   personally, I hate onions

3. as if referring to oneself

   to take the insults personally

4. as a person

   we like him personally, but professionally he's incompetent

---

Etymology

Origin of personally

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English; personal + -ly

Explanation

When you do something personally, you do it yourself. If you promise you'll personally sell Girl Scout cookies to your neighbors, you can't just put flyers in their mailboxes or make your brother knock on their doors. Doing things personally means doing them in person, often not involving anyone else. If the grand prize of a contest involves your favorite movie star personally driving you around Hollywood in a Rolls Royce, it means she'll be the one behind the wheel. Another way to use this word is to mean "privately," as when someone's work life is great but they're really struggling personally. You can also use personally to refer to yourself: "Personally, I prefer vanilla ice cream."

Example Sentences

When I asked him how he approaches the stewardship of two houses synonymous with their founders’ creative visions, he offered a personally chilling analogy.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026

"Based on what I personally witnessed, a significant number of people were injured," the photographer said.

From BBC • Jun. 9, 2026

If Pulte is personally connected to The Fellowship, he’d hardly be alone in the administration’s upper ranks.

From Salon • Jun. 9, 2026

The opposition’s manifesto was so long they built an A.I. chatbot on their website to help you locate which of the 1,000 promises personally applied to you.

From Slate • Jun. 6, 2026

Mr. Neely is a new teacher, so he’s still all optimistic and stuff, but personally I think this assignment’s a lost cause.

From "The Science of Breakable Things" by Tae Keller

Related Words

• directly
• individually
• privately