dual personality

American  

noun

Psychology.

1. a disorder in which an individual possesses two dissociated personalities.

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Etymology

Origin of dual personality

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

He acknowledged that he found the company’s dual personality hard to comprehend, noting that most bad landlords keep a low profile.

From Los Angeles Times

The external pressures have been compounded by tensions stemming from the A.T.F.’s dual personality as a law enforcement and regulatory agency responsible for monitoring the nation’s 75,000 shops, pawn brokers, manufacturers and importers that buy and sell guns.

From New York Times

Agatha Christie featured characters with split consciousness or dual personality in her short-story collection The Hound of Death.

From The Guardian

This was why, they thought, Asian-Americans were always described as having a “dual heritage” or “dual personality,” and thus as being part alien, even after having been here for generations.

From The New Yorker

The organization said signs of an abusive relationship can include jealousy, controlling behavior, quick involvement, unrealistic expectations, isolation, blaming others for problems or feelings, dual personality, past battering, hypersensitivity, cruelty to animals or children, verbal abuse, threats of violence and using any force during arguments.

From Washington Times