3 N‑COUNT You can refer to a famous person, especially in entertainment, broadcasting, or sport, as a personality . □ She is one of the country's most highly paid television personalities. SYNONYMS personality NOUN 1
character: Perhaps there is a negative side to his character that you haven't seen yet.
temperament: His impulsive temperament regularly got him into difficulties.
nature: She trusted people. That was her nature.
identity: I wanted a sense of my own identity.
per|son|al|ize /pɜː r sən ə la I z/ (personalizes , personalizing , personalized ) in BRIT, also use personalise 1 VERB [usu passive] If an object is personalized , it is marked with the name or initials of its owner. □ [be V -ed] The clock has easy-to-read numbers and is personalised with the child's name and birth date. ● per|son|al|ized ADJ [ADJ n] □ …a Rolls-Royce with a personalised number plate.
2 VERB If you personalize something, you do or design it specially according to the needs of an individual or to your own needs. □ [V n] Personalising your car has never been cheaper. □ [V -ed] …an ideal centre for professional men or women who need intensive, personalised French courses.
3 VERB If you personalize an argument, discussion, idea, or issue, you consider it from the point of view of individual people and their characters or relationships, rather than considering the facts in a general or abstract way. □ [V n] Women tend to personalise rejection more than men. □ [V -ed] The contest has become personalised, if not bitter. [Also V ]
per|son|al|ly ◆◇◇ /pɜː r sənəli/
1 ADV You use personally to emphasize that you are giving your own opinion. [EMPHASIS ] □ Personally I think it's a waste of time. □ I personally would welcome it.
2 ADV [ADV with v] If you do something personally , you do it yourself rather than letting someone else do it. □ The minister is returning to Paris to answer the allegations personally. □ When the great man arrived, the club's manager personally escorted him upstairs.
3 ADV [ADV with v] If you meet or know someone personally , you meet or know them in real life, rather than knowing about them or knowing their work. □ He did not know them personally, but he was familiar with their reputation.
4 ADV [ADV with v, ADV adj] You can use personally to say that something refers to an individual person rather than to other people. □ He was personally responsible for all that the people had suffered under his rule. □ In order for me to spend three months on something, it has to interest me personally.
5 ADV You can use personally to show that you are talking about someone's private life rather than their professional or public life. □ This has taken a great toll on me personally and professionally.
6 PHRASE If you take someone's remarks personally , you are upset because you think that they are criticizing you in particular. □ Remember, stick to the issues and don't take it personally.
pe r|son|al o r|gan|iz|er (personal organizers ) in BRIT, also use personal organiser N‑COUNT A personal organizer is a book containing personal or business information, which you can add pages to or remove pages from to keep the information up to date. Small computers with a similar function are also called personal organizers .
pe r|son|al pro |noun (personal pronouns ) N‑COUNT A personal pronoun is a pronoun such as 'I', 'you', 'she', or 'they' which is used to refer to the speaker or the person spoken to, or to a person or thing whose identity is clear, usually because they have already been mentioned.
per|son|als /pɜː r sən ə ls/ N‑PLURAL The section in a newspaper or magazine which contains messages for individual people and advertisements of a private nature is called the personals . [AM ] in BRIT, usually use personal column
pe r|son|al spa ce
1 N‑UNCOUNT [oft poss N ] If someone invades your personal space , they stand or lean too close to you, so that you feel uncomfortable.
2 N‑UNCOUNT [oft poss N ] If you need your personal space , you need time on your own, with the freedom to do something that you want to do or to think about something. □ Self-confidence means being relaxed enough to allow your lover their personal space.
pe r|son|al ste |reo (personal stereos ) N‑COUNT A personal stereo is a small cassette or CD player with very light headphones, which people carry round so that they can listen to music while doing something else.
per|so|na non gra|ta /pə r soʊ nə nɒn grɑː tə/ (personae non gratae ) PHRASE If someone becomes or is declared persona non grata , they become unwelcome or unacceptable because of something they have said or done. □ The government has declared the French ambassador persona non grata and ordered him to leave the country.
per|soni|fi|ca|tion /pə r sɒ n I f I ke I ʃ ə n/ N‑SING If you say that someone is the personification of a particular thing or quality, you mean that they are a perfect example of that thing or that they have a lot of that quality. □ [+ of ] He was usually the personification of kindness.
per|soni|fy /pə r sɒ n I fa I / (personifies , personifying , personified ) VERB If you say that someone personifies a particular thing or quality, you mean that they seem to be a perfect example of that thing, or to have that quality to a very large degree. □ [V n] She seemed to personify goodness and nobility. □ [V -ed] On other occasions she can be charm personified.
per|son|nel ◆◇◇ /pɜː r səne l/