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

Bianchi did so under hypnosis, and convinced more than one psychiatrist that he suffered from multiple personality disorder.

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

A former pastor, Mungadze has held a counselor’s license in Texas for over three decades and offers himself as an expert in treating dissociative identity disorder, which was once known as multiple personality disorder.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 10, 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