persona grata

American  

[per-soh-nah grah-tah, per-soh-nuh grah-tuh, grey-tuh, grat-uh] / pɛrˈsoʊ nɑ ˈgrɑ tɑ, pərˈsoʊ nə ˈgrɑ tə, ˈgreɪ tə, ˈgræt ə /

noun

Latin.

personae gratae plural

1. an acceptable person, especially a diplomatic representative acceptable to the government to which they are accredited.

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persona grata British  

/ pɜːˈsəʊnə ˈɡrɑːtə /

noun

1. an acceptable person, esp a diplomat acceptable to the government of the country to which he or she is sent

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• personae gratae
  plural

Etymology

Origin of persona grata

First recorded in 1850–55

Example Sentences

Cavett: I was actually persona grata at the White House for a brief time.

From New York Times • Sep. 5, 2016

When at New Haven, or Princeton, or Cambridge, Mass., or Cambridge, Eng., he is persona grata among a group of serious-minded young men distinguished by their piety and their wealth.

From Time Magazine Archive

Once he seemed bent on expelling all foreign correspondents, but now more than 200 of them are "persona grata" in a land where American diplomats are not.

From Time Magazine Archive

Nor is Colonel John Patrick Sullivan, another big old-line Democrat, persona grata beyond his urban district, because of his horse track, gambling and brewing connections.

From Time Magazine Archive

You were the guests to-night, I believe, of the Baron von Leibingen, who is, I understand, a persona grata with the Archduchess.

From The Master Mummer by Oppenheim, E. Phillips (Edward Phillips)