alter ego

American  

[awl-ter ee-goh, eg-oh, al-] / ˈɔl tər ˈi goʊ, ˌɛg oʊ, ˈæl- /

noun

alter egos plural

1. a second self; a perfect substitute or deputy.

   His adviser acts as his alter ego during his absence.

2. an inseparable friend.

3. another aspect of one's self.

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alter ego British  

/ ˈæltər ˈiːɡəʊ, ˈɛɡəʊ /

noun

1. a second self

2. a very close and intimate friend

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alter ego Cultural  

1. An intimate friend, considered another side of oneself: “He was my alter ego; we were always picking up each other's thoughts.” Alter ego is Latin for “another I.”

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• alter egos
  plural

Etymology

Origin of alter ego

1530–40; < Latin (Cicero), probably translation of Greek állos egṓ, héteros egṓ another I

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

alter ego

One person has come forward to declare he will challenge Farage: Count Binface, the alter ego of comedian Jon Harvey, who regularly runs in UK elections with his trash-can shaped head and long cape.

From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026

Bombastic yet intimate, fantastical yet sensible, Colbert’s farewell to his Comedy Central audience and his conservative alter ego was about as lovely and loving as TV can be.

From Salon ● May 21, 2026

The hero Cage plays, Ben Reilly, has a masked alter ego, the Spider, who possesses the ability to swing from building to building to fight crime.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2026

Herrmann, Hitchcock’s musical alter ego, also wrote the underscore, or background music.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026

Such a dog-lover talks baby talk to mature and thoughtful animals, and attributes his own sloppy characteristics to them until the dog becomes in his mind an alter ego.

From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck

Related Words

• soul mate