personal

American  

[pur-suh-nl] / ˈpɜr sə nl /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or coming as from a particular person; individual; private.

   a personal opinion.

2. relating to, directed to, or intended for a particular person.

   a personal favor; one's personal life; a letter marked “Personal.”

3. intended for use by one person.

   a personal car.

4. referring or directed to a particular person in a disparaging or offensive sense or manner, usually involving character, behavior, appearance, etc..

   personal remarks.

5. making personal remarks or attacks.

   to become personal in a dispute.

6. done, carried out, held, etc., in person.

   a personal interview.

7. pertaining to or characteristic of a person or self-conscious being.

   That is my personal belief.

8. of the nature of an individual rational being.

9. pertaining to the body, clothing, or appearance.

   personal cleanliness.

10. provided for one's discretionary use.

    Employees are allowed 15 vacation days and two personal days.

11. Grammar.

    1. noting person.

       In Latin portō “I carry,” -ō is a personal ending.

    2. of, relating to, or characteristic of the personal pronoun, as English I, we, you, he, she, it, and they .

12. Law. of or relating to personal property.

    personal interests.

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noun

personals plural

1. 1. a short news paragraph in a newspaper concerning a particular person, as one who is socially prominent, or a group of particular persons who are socially prominent.

   2. a brief, private notice in a newspaper or magazine, often addressed to a particular person, and typically bearing an abbreviated salutation and signature to preserve its confidentiality, usually printed in a special part of the classified advertising section.

   3. Also called personal ad.  a similar notice, as in a newspaper or on a website, placed by a person seeking companionship, a spouse, etc.

   4. Usually personals. a column, page, or section, as of a newspaper, magazine, or website, featuring such notices or items.

personal British  

/ ˈpɜːsənəl /

adjective

1. of or relating to the private aspects of a person's life

   personal letters

   a personal question

2. (prenominal) of or relating to a person's body, its care, or its appearance

   personal hygiene

   great personal beauty

3. belonging to or intended for a particular person and no-one else

   as a personal favour

   for your personal use

4. (prenominal) undertaken by an individual himself

   a personal appearance by a celebrity

5. referring to, concerning, or involving a person's individual personality, intimate affairs, etc, esp in an offensive way

   personal remarks

   don't be so personal

6. having the attributes of an individual conscious being

   a personal God

7. of or arising from the personality

   personal magnetism

8. of, relating to, or denoting grammatical person

9. law of or relating to movable property, such as money Compare real 1

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noun

1. law an item of movable property

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• personalness
  noun
• hyperpersonal
  adjective
• multipersonal
  adjective
• nonpersonal
  adjective
• quasi-personal
  adjective
• superpersonal
  adjective
• unpersonal
  adjective
• hyperpersonally
  adverb
• nonpersonally
  adverb
• quasi-personally
  adverb
• superpersonally
  adverb
• unpersonally
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• personals
  plural

Etymology

Origin of personal

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Late Latin word persōnālis. See person, -al ¹

Explanation

When something's personal, it's all about you. A personal decision is one you make on your own and it’s probably about something that concerns you, too. Your personal possessions are things that belong to you. No doubt you've noticed the word person, in personal. The word comes from the Latin personalis, "of a person." Personal can be your personal habits — how often your brush your teeth, whether you like broccoli — or your personal space, or a personal attack — mean-spirited criticism aimed at somebody in particular. The "Personals" section in your local newspaper is where people place ads hoping to find true love or with other personal messages.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

personal personals

Perry cited personal reasons for his resignation, tendered on July 25.

From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026

A therapist’s role is to ask questions and supportively help clients explore ways of navigating relationships with friends, family, co-workers and, most important, themselves in a way that aligns with their own personal goals.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

Stone had been a personal assistant to the businessman after joining Harrods at 19.

From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026

“Nino said he had come to regret deeply the tone of his Obergefell dissent and its personal references. He apologized for being intemperate,” Kennedy wrote.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026

I would meet the coolest friends—hopefully I’d find my own personal Uncle Jack, and we would live in side-by-side apartments after graduation.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

As a result, sites like Craigslist removed their entire online personals sections.

From The Verge ● Oct. 17, 2019

John had recently moved to the city and was getting to know his new home: mainly, he says, by answering personals ads in the newspaper.

From The Guardian ● Sep. 3, 2019

“There were pages and pages of personals, mine was the only one to say wedding planner. I got lovely young couples who were having trouble planning their weddings.”

From New York Times ● Aug. 27, 2019

See, for example, the wonderful sonnets that read like ads from a personals section: “A brother versed in spiritual calisthenics / And cowboy quiet seeks funny, lonesome, / Speculative or eye-glassed lass.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 14, 2018

The more junior typesetters leaded and shimmed the classifieds and personals and all the other advertisements that filled the inside pages.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

Related Words

• intimate
• particular
• secret
• special