What does personal mean?
Personal describes anything connected with a particular person rather than with people in general, an organization, or the wider public. Its uses range from the straightforwardly practical, as in personal information or personal development, to the grammatical, where personal pronouns identify the participants in a sentence. The word can also distinguish individual experience from public or institutional treatment: an event attended in person is one for which people are physically present. Personal does not always carry the implication of secrecy; “personal belongings” may simply mean items belonging to someone, while “personal development” concerns a person's individual growth. In more reflective contexts, personal can mean subjective or privately held, as in a personal response to a difficult situation. The term is common and broadly neutral in both British and American English, although personal versus private is a meaningful distinction: private emphasizes concealment or exclusion, whereas personal emphasizes individual relevance or ownership.
adjectiveBelonging to or concerning an individual person, especially as opposed to something shared, general, or institutional. It can also refer to something experienced or conducted by a person in their physical presence rather than through a representative.
- Relating to or intended for an individual person.
- Private or individual rather than general, communal, or officially shared.
- Denoting a grammatical pronoun that refers to a particular person, such as I, you, or they.
- Present or conducted by a person in their own physical presence.
- Subjective or based on an individual's feelings, thoughts, or experience.
"The company offers each employee ten days of personal leave each year."
"After years of public life, she valued a few personal belongings more than any award."
"The interview was conducted in person rather than by video conference."
The word personal ultimately descends from a Latin word for a theatrical mask: we still speak of adopting a persona, but what is now “personal” is what belongs to the person behind it.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does personal come from?
Personal entered English from Latin personalis, meaning “of or belonging to a person.” Latin persona originally referred to a mask worn by an actor and later came to mean the character or role represented by that mask. The English word developed through Old French and Middle English, while forms such as person and personify retained the same Latin foundation.
Related word forms
How personal is actually used
Personal is neutral in tone and generally means “belonging to or concerning an individual”; it does not necessarily imply secrecy. In grammar, personal distinguishes pronouns that refer to participants such as I, you, he, she, it, and we. The phrase “in person” emphasizes physical presence, not personal character.
Easily confused with personal
Personal means connected with an individual person, whereas personnel means the staff or employees of an organization.