personal

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Related to personal: Personal loans, Personal Statement

personal

relating to a particular person; private: a personal matter

Not to be confused with:

personnel – body of persons employed in an organization or business: personnel department

per·son·al

(pûr′sə-nəl)

adj.

1. Of or relating to a particular person; private: "Like their personal lives, women's history is fragmented, interrupted" (Elizabeth Janeway).

a. Done, made, or performed in person: a personal appearance.

b. Done to or for or directed toward a particular person: a personal favor.

3. Concerning a particular person and his or her private business, interests, or activities; intimate: I have something personal to tell you.

a. Aimed pointedly at the most intimate aspects of a person, especially in a critical or hostile manner: an uncalled-for, highly personal remark.

b. Tending to make remarks, or be unduly questioning, about another's affairs: As the student debate got heated, it got personal.

5. Of or relating to the body or physical being: personal cleanliness.

6. Relating to or having the nature of a person or self-conscious being: belief in a personal God.

7. Law Of or relating to the person: personal property as opposed to real property; personal jurisdiction as opposed to in rem jurisdiction.

8. Grammar Indicating grammatical person.

1. A personal item or notice in a newspaper.

2. personals A column in a newspaper or magazine featuring personal notices.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

personal

(ˈpɜːsənəl)

adj

1. of or relating to the private aspects of a person's life: personal letters; a personal question.

2. (prenominal) of or relating to a person's body, its care, or its appearance: personal hygiene; great personal beauty.

3. belonging to or intended for a particular person and no-one else: as a personal favour; for your personal use.

4. (prenominal) undertaken by an individual himself: a personal appearance by a celebrity.

5. referring to, concerning, or involving a person's individual personality, intimate affairs, etc, esp in an offensive way: personal remarks; don't be so personal.

6. having the attributes of an individual conscious being: a personal God.

7. of or arising from the personality: personal magnetism.

8. (Grammar) of, relating to, or denoting grammatical person

9. (Law) law of or relating to movable property, such as money. Compare real¹⁸

(Law) law an item of movable property

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

per•son•al

(ˈpɜr sə nl)

adj.

1. of, pertaining to, or concerning a particular person; individual; private: a personal opinion.

2. directed to or intended for a particular person: a personal favor.

3. referring or directed to a particular person in an offensive sense or manner: personal remarks.

4. done, carried out, held, etc., in person: a personal interview.

5. pertaining to the body, clothing, or appearance: personal cleanliness.

6. of, pertaining to, or indicating grammatical person: the personal ending -o in Spanish hablo “I speak.”

7. pertaining to or characteristic of a person or self-conscious being.

8. of the nature of an individual rational being.

9. Law. of or pertaining to personal property: personal interests.

10.

a. a short news item concerning a socially prominent person.

b. a brief, private message to a particular person, as one who is missing, either unsigned or using initials, first names, etc.

c. a notice placed by a person seeking companionship, marriage, etc.

d. personals, the section of a newspaper or magazine reserved for such notices.

[1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin persōnālis. See person, -al¹]

per′son•al•ness, n.

personal

– personnel

1. 'personal'

Personal (/pɜːsənəl/) is an adjective. You use it to say that something belongs or relates to a particular person.

This is my personal opinion.

...books, furniture, and other personal belongings.

2. 'personnel'

Personnel (/pɜːsənel/) is a noun. The personnel of a company or organization are the people who work for it.

We've advertised for extra security personnel.

There has been very little renewal of personnel in higher education.

Personnel is a plural noun. You do not talk about 'personnels' or 'a personnel'.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun	1.	personal - a short newspaper article about a particular person or group news article, news story, newspaper article - an article reporting news
Adj.	1.	personal - concerning or affecting a particular person or his or her private life and personality; "a personal favor"; "for your personal use"; "personal papers"; "I have something personal to tell you"; "a personal God"; "he has his personal bank account and she has hers" private - confined to particular persons or groups or providing privacy; "a private place"; "private discussions"; "private lessons"; "a private club"; "a private secretary"; "private property"; "the former President is now a private citizen"; "public figures struggle to maintain a private life" impersonal - not relating to or responsive to individual persons; "an impersonal corporation"; "an impersonal remark"
	2.	personal - particular to a given individual subjective - taking place within the mind and modified by individual bias; "a subjective judgment"
	3.	personal - of or arising from personality; "personal magnetism"
	4.	personal - intimately concerning a person's body or physical being; "personal hygiene" physical - involving the body as distinguished from the mind or spirit; "physical exercise"; "physical suffering"; "was sloppy about everything but her physical appearance"
	5.	personal - indicating grammatical person; "personal verb endings"

personal

adjective

1. own, special, private, individual, particular, peculiar, privy That's my personal property!

2. individual, special, particular, exclusive I'll give it my personal attention.

3. private, intimate, confidential prying into his personal life

4. offensive, critical, slighting, nasty, insulting, rude, belittling, disparaging, derogatory, disrespectful, pejorative a series of personal comments about my family

5. physical, intimate, bodily, corporal, corporeal personal hygiene

6. individual, original, unique, characteristic, distinctive, idiosyncratic, personalized They should cultivate their own personal style rather than always imitating others.

7. direct, immediate, first-hand, empirical, experiential I speak from deep personal knowledge.

8. in person, live, actual, in the flesh I try to keep away from TV interviews and personal appearances.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

personal

adjective

1. Belonging to, relating to, or affecting a particular person:

individual, private.

2. Belonging or confined to a particular person or group as opposed to the public or the government:

private, privy.

3. Based on individual judgment or discretion:

arbitrary, discretionary, judgmental, subjective.

4. Characterized by a close and thorough acquaintance:

inside, intimate.

5. Of or relating to the human body:

bodily, corporal, corporeal, fleshly, physical, somatic.

Translations

Spanish / Español

Select a language:

personal en persona

personal

[ˈpɜːsnl]

A. ADJ

1. (= individual) → personal
I will give it my personal attention → me encargaré personalmente
I know from personal experience that it's not easy → sé por experiencia personal que no es fácil
it's an attack on their personal freedom → es un ataque contra su libertad personal
he was a personal friend → era un amigo íntimo or personal
to have/take a personal interest in sth → tener un interés personal en or por algo, interesarse personalmente en or por algo
my personal opinion is that → en mi opinión personal ...
it is a matter of personal preference → es una cuestión de preferencia personal
are you willing to take personal responsibility for her? → ¿estás dispuesto a responsabilizarte personalmente de ella?
if you continue with this investigation you do so at great personal risk → si continúa con esta investigación correrá usted un gran riesgo contra su persona
to give sth the personal touch → dar a algo el toque personal

2. (= private) → personal
"personal" (on letter) → confidencial
personal belongings → efectos mpl or cosas fpl personales
they don't allow personal calls on the office phone → no permiten que se hagan llamadas particulares en el teléfono de la oficina
she refused to discuss her personal life → se negó a discutir su vida personal or privada
this was a personal matter, something between us two → este era un asunto personal, algo entre nosotros dos
for personal reasons → por razones personales
personal space → espacio m vital
to invade sb's personal space → acercarse demasiado a algn
two telephones, one for personal use and the other for business → dos teléfonos, uno para uso personal y el otro para los negocios

3. (= in person) [visit, interview] → en persona
to make a personal appearance → hacer acto de presencia

4. (= against the person) [abuse, insult] → de carácter personal
there's no need to get personal → no hace falta llevar las cosas al terreno personal
they are suing for personal injury → van a denunciar por daños contra la persona
I have nothing personal against him → no tengo nada personal en contra suya
to ask personal questions → hacer preguntas personales or de carácter personal
to make personal remarks (about sb) → hacer comentarios de carácter personal acerca de or sobre algn

5. (= physical) → personal
personal appearance → aspecto m (físico)
personal cleanliness → aseo m personal
personal hygiene → higiene f personal

B. N (US) (Journalism) (= advert) → anuncio m en la sección de citas

C. CPD personal account N (Fin) → cuenta f personal
personal allowance N (for tax) → desgravación f personal
personal assets NPL → bienes mpl muebles
personal assistant N → ayudante mf personal (to de) personal best N (Sport) → marca f personal
personal column N (Brit) (for births, deaths and marriages) → (páginas fpl) sociales fpl (y necrológicas); (for lonely hearts) → (sección f de) anuncios mpl personales
personal computer N → ordenador m or (LAm) computadora f personal
personal effects NPL → efectos mpl personales
personal foul N → falta f personal
personal identification number N → número m de identificación personal
personal income N → ingresos mpl personales
personal income tax N → impuesto m sobre la renta de las personas físicas
personal loan N → préstamo m personal
personal organizer N (paper) → agenda f personal; (electronic) → agenda f personal electrónica
personal pronoun N → pronombre m personal
personal property N (Jur) → bienes mpl (muebles); (private) → cosas fpl personales
personal secretary N → secretario/a m/f personal
personal security N (= safety) → seguridad f personal; (on loan) → garantía f personal
personal stereo N → Walkman ® m, equipo m de música personal
personal trainer N → preparador(a) m/f

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

person

(ˈpəːsn) – plural people (ˈpiːpl) ˈpersons – noun

1. a human being. There's a person outside who wants to speak to you.persona

2. a person's body. He never carried money on his person (= with him; in his pockets etc).encima

ˈpersonal adjective

1. one's own. This is his personal opinion; The matter will have my personal attention.personal

2. private. This is a personal matter between him and me.personal

3. in person. The Prime Minister will make a personal appearance.en persona

4. (making remarks which are) insulting, especially about a person's appearance etc. personal remarks; Don't be personal!indiscreto, maleducado, ofensivo

ˌpersoˈnality – plural persoˈnalities – noun

1. a person's characteristics (of the mind, the emotions etc) as a whole. a likeable / forceful (= strong) personality.personalidad

2. strong, distinctive (usually attractive) character. She is not beautiful but she has a lot of personality.personalidad

3. a well-known person. a television personality; (also adjective) a personality cult (= very great, usually too great, admiration for a person, usually a political leader).personalidad

ˈpersonally adverb

1. in one's own opinion. Personally, I prefer the other.personalmente

2. doing something oneself, not having or letting someone else do it on one's behalf. He thanked me personally.personalmente, en persona

ˌpersonal comˈputer noun

(also PC) a small computer that can be used independently by an individual user for word-processing, games, e-mail, storage of information. etc. ordenador personal

personal pronoun

a pronoun which refers to the first, second or third persons. I am going; He hit her; She saw you.

ˌpersonal ˈstereo noun

(also Walkman^®) a small (radio and) cassette player with headphones that enables the person wearing it to listen to music while walking etc. walkman

ˌpersonal ˌwatercraft noun

a small boat for one or two people that is ridden like a motorcycle. moto acuática

in person

personally; one's self, not represented by someone else. The Queen was there in person; I'd like to thank him in person.en persona

personal

→ personal

personal

n. el personal, la empleomanía;

a. personal

___ papers → documento ___ es.

personal

adj personal

References in classic literature ?

Providence compelled all these men, striving to attain personal aims, to further the accomplishment of a stupendous result no one of them at all expected- neither Napoleon, nor Alexander, nor still less any of those who did the actual fighting.

View in context

I am telling the history of very simple people, who had never had any illuminating doubts as to personal integrity and honor.

View in context

The separate incidents that compose the narrative are, to a very great extent, authentic, occurring, many of them, either under her own observation, or that of her personal friends.

View in context

On the other hand, both political science and common sense teach us that in matters of state, and especially in the matter of war, private citizens must forego their personal individual

View in context

"He is nothing to me otherwise; I would not cry him up on any personal ground--I would keep clear of that."

View in context

in the Phaedrus, Phaedo, Republic; to which may be added the criticism of them in the Parmenides, the personal form which is attributed to them in the Timaeus, the logical character which they assume in the Sophist and Philebus, and the allusion to them in the Laws.

View in context

Starting from these plain facts, the idea is that we should all write the story of the Moonstone in turn-- as far as our own personal experience extends, and no farther.

View in context

In the former case, the rule is understood to refer to the personal rights of the people, with which it has a natural and universal connection.

View in context

We Communists have been reproached with the desire of abolishing the right of personally acquiring property as the fruit of a man's own labour, which property is alleged to be the groundwork of all personal freedom, activity and independence.

View in context

Therefore there enters into the former game not only the strategy of jetan but the personal prowess and bravery of each individual piece, so that a knowledge not only of one's own men but of each player upon the opposing side is of vast value to a chief.

View in context

It was printed in the largest type, and was followed by a personal statement of the facts, taken one way--which was followed, in its turn, by another personal statement of the facts, taken in another way.

View in context

"Then I decline to interfere," said the Governor, with asperity; "a man who abuses his office by making it serve a private end and purvey a personal advantage is unfit to be free.

View in context

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