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personal definition

per·sonal (pʉr′sə nəl)

adjective

  1. of or peculiar to a certain person; private; individual
  2. done in person or by oneself without the use of another person or outside agency a personal interview
  3. involving persons or human beings personal relationships
  4. of the person, body, or physical appearance personal hygiene
    1. having to do with the character, personality, intimate affairs, conduct, etc. of a certain person a personal remark
    2. tending to make personal, esp. derogatory, remarks to get personal in an argument
  6. of, like, or having the nature of a person, or rational, self-conscious being
  7. Gram. indicating grammatical person personal pronouns, personal endings of verbs in Greek and other highly inflected languages
  8. Law of or constituting personal property

Etymology: OFr < L personalis

noun

  1. ☆ a local news item about a person or persons
  2. ☆
    1. a short, personal communication placed as in a newspaper
    2. a classified advertisement placed for the purpose of seeking someone to date or have a personal relationship with
    3. a section of such advertisements, as in a newspaper

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

personal Synonyms

personal

modif.

  1. Private

    secluded, secret, retired, intimate; see private.

  2. Individual

    own, peculiar, particular; see individual 1, special 1.

  3. Pertaining to one's person

    fleshly, corporeal, corporal; see bodily 1.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

personal Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • date: The UK Online Dating Service and dating personals from the UK leaders in singles events.. .

Adjective complement with noun phrase

  • make: Intel Core Duo and iLife '06 raise the bar again of what makes a personal computer so personal.

Adjective modifier

  • own: My own personal ' bitch ' about Superbase concerns the programming language.

Modifies a noun

  • datum: They want to retain control of their own personal data.

Modifying Another Word

  • intensely: What you have to understand is that a maiden speech is an intensely personal thing to an MP.

Noun used with modifier

  • picture: Friends Reunited Dating Dating and picture personals for UK residents with postcode search facility.

Used with adjective complement

  • seem: However these are issues which although significant may seem too personal.
personal usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

personal quotes

Personal relations are the important thing for ever and ever, and not this outer life of telegrams and anger.

-Forster, E(dward) M(organ)

Is it not possible that the rage for confession, autobiography, especially for memories of earliest childhood, is explained by our persistent yet mysterious belief in a self which is continuous and permanent; which, untouched by all we acquire and all we shed, pushes a green spear through the dead leaves and throughthemould, thrusts a scaled bud through years of darkness until, one day, the light discovers it and shakes the flower free andöwe are aliveöwe are flowering for our moment upon the earth? This is the moment which after all, we live foröthe moment of direct feeling when we are most ourselves and least personal.

-Beauchamp

   Vengeance is a personal reaction. But not one that government can indulge in.

-Reno,Janet

personal quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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"personal." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 3 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/personal>

APA Style

personal. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 3rd, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/personal

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