personally

American  

[pur-suh-nl-ee] / ˈpɜr sə nl i /

adverb

1. through direct contact; in person; directly.

   I will thank him personally.

2. as if intended for or directed at one's own person.

   to take someone's comments personally.

3. as regards oneself.

   Personally, I don't care to go.

4. as an individual.

   to like someone personally, but not as an employer.

---

personally British  

/ ˈpɜːsənəlɪ /

adverb

1. without the help or intervention of others

   I'll attend to it personally

2. (sentence modifier) in one's own opinion or as regards oneself

   personally, I hate onions

3. as if referring to oneself

   to take the insults personally

4. as a person

   we like him personally, but professionally he's incompetent

---

Etymology

Origin of personally

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English; personal + -ly

Explanation

When you do something personally, you do it yourself. If you promise you'll personally sell Girl Scout cookies to your neighbors, you can't just put flyers in their mailboxes or make your brother knock on their doors. Doing things personally means doing them in person, often not involving anyone else. If the grand prize of a contest involves your favorite movie star personally driving you around Hollywood in a Rolls Royce, it means she'll be the one behind the wheel. Another way to use this word is to mean "privately," as when someone's work life is great but they're really struggling personally. You can also use personally to refer to yourself: "Personally, I prefer vanilla ice cream."

Example Sentences

"Celtic ultimately couldn't secure the necessary reinforcements and told me they couldn't let me go. Personally, I had come to an understanding with the club. I'd been in constant talks."

From BBC • May 23, 2026

"Personally I do find it very annoying. My time is wasted. Transport fares have increased. But I am happy that we are doing something positive," she said.

From Barron's • Apr. 22, 2026

“Having hope is instilled in us here. Personally, I never lost faith.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026

Personally, the first time a generative A.I. tool made me feel the magic and majesty of technology was when I tried Claude Code.

From Slate • Feb. 10, 2026

Personally, she had a suspicion that the Professor was just going to give back all their stuff, but as Toby said, there’s nothing like keeping things livened up.

From "The Egypt Game" by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

Related Words

• directly
• individually
• privately