multiple personality

American  

noun

Psychiatry.

1. a rare disorder in which an individual displays several functionally dissociated personalities, each of a complexity comparable to that of a normal individual.

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multiple personality British  

noun

1. Nontechnical name: split personality.  psychiatry a mental disorder in which an individual's personality appears to have become separated into two or more distinct personalities, each with its own complex organization

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Etymology

Origin of multiple personality

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

“Because your primary multiple personality isn’t yours, it’s a real person.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 31, 2025

Dr. Braun gained renown in the early 1980s as an expert in two of the most popular and controversial areas of psychiatric treatment: repressed memories and multiple personality disorder, now known as dissociative identity disorder.

From New York Times • Apr. 12, 2024

In total, the caretakers completed more than 800 questionnaires, offering the researchers multiple personality surveys on each tiger.

From Science Magazine • Apr. 4, 2023

Hillyard noted that Walker's own book reveals he has a kind of multiple personality problem called "dissociative identity disorder."

From Salon • Dec. 5, 2022

Her fondness for transformation began at an early age and has developed into something closely resembling a multiple personality disorder.

From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris