What does personalise mean?
Personalise means to make something fit a particular person rather than remaining entirely general or standardised. A business might personalise a service by using a customer's name, while a teacher might personalise a lesson by selecting material suited to a learner's abilities and interests. The word is especially common in discussions of commerce, software, medicine, and education, where individual data may be used to adapt products, recommendations, or treatment. Personalisation can convey a sense of care, relevance, and attention to detail. However, the word can also be used critically when an organisation claims to offer a tailored experience while making only minor adjustments, such as adding a name to a generic message. In British English the usual spelling is personalise; the equivalent US form is personalize.
verbTo make something especially suitable or distinctive for a particular person or group. It may also mean to adapt content or a service using personal details, such as a name or preferences.
- To make something suitable or distinctive for a particular person or group.
- To adapt content or a service by incorporating personal information, preferences, or characteristics.
"The hospital personalised the exercise programme according to each patient's needs."
"The retailer personalises recommendations using customers' previous purchases."
"She personalised the invitation with a handwritten greeting."
Personalising a message with someone's name can make it feel written for them rather than merely sent to them.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does personalise come from?
The verb was formed in the 19th century from personal, with the suffix -ize, and is recorded in both British and American English. Personal ultimately comes through Late Latin personalis from Latin persona, meaning “mask” or “character,” itself associated with the theatrical actor's mask worn by a dramatis persona. The modern verb developed a comparatively recent meaning: giving something an individual character or making it suitable for a particular person.
Related word forms
How personalise is actually used
The form with -ise is standard British English, while US English generally uses personalize. The verb is common in commerce, technology, education, and healthcare, where it often denotes adapting a standard product or communication to individual needs. It can imply either genuinely useful tailoring or, less favourably, superficial personalisation that merely inserts someone's name.
Easily confused with personalise
To personalise is to tailor something to a person, whereas to personify is to represent an abstract idea or object as a person.