Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The totality of qualities and traits, as of character or behavior, that are peculiar to a specific person. synonym: disposition.
- noun The totality of behavioral traits that are peculiar to a specific nonhuman animal.
- noun The totality of qualities that distinguish a group, organization, or place.
- noun The collection of distinctive qualities of a person, especially those distinguishing personal characteristics that make one socially appealing.
- noun The quality or condition of being a person.
- noun A person as the embodiment of distinctive traits of mind and behavior.
- noun A person of prominence or notoriety.
- noun The distinctive characteristics of a place or situation.
- noun An offensive or disparaging personal remark.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun in abnormal psychology, a group of experiences, split off or dissociated from the normal or primary personality of an individual, which become systematized and organized, and thus constitute a second, third, etc., independent (though imperfect) personality, appearing in alternation with the normal. The phenomena are sometimes termed those of double (triple, etc.) consciousness, or of double (triple, multiple) personality.
- noun The essential character of a person as distinguished from a thing; self-consciousness; existence as a self-conscious being; also, personal qualities or endowments considered collectively; a person. As a philosophical term personality commonly implies personal identity. See
personal . - noun A personal characteristic or trait.
- noun Limitation to particular persons or classes.
- noun Direct applicability or application, as of a remark, an allusion, etc., to a person or individual: as, the personality of a remark.
- noun An invidious or dreogatory remark made to or about a person, or his character, conduct, appearance, etc.: as, to indulge in personalities.
- noun In law, personal estate. In this sense usually personalty.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun That which constitutes distinction of person; the externally evident aspects of the character or behavior of a person; individuality.
- noun Something said or written which refers to the person, conduct, etc., of some individual, especially something of a disparaging or offensive nature; personal remarks.
- noun (Law) That quality of a law which concerns the condition, state, and capacity of persons.
- noun A person who is famous or notable; a celebrity.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A set of qualities that make a person (or thing) distinct from another.
- noun An assumed role or manner of behavior.
- noun A
celebrity . - noun
Charisma , or qualities that make a person stand out from the crowd. - noun Something said or written which refers to the person, conduct, etc., of some individual, especially something of a disparaging or offensive nature; personal remarks.
- noun law That quality of a
law which concerns the condition, state, and capacity of persons.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun the complex of all the attributes--behavioral, temperamental, emotional and mental--that characterize a unique individual
- noun a person of considerable prominence
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word personality.
Examples
-
If instead of the soul's desire being simply the victory of love over malice it were, so to speak, the "material fruit" of such a victory -- namely, the survival of personality after death -- then, in place of the struggle between love and malice, we should be compelled to regard _personality in itself_, apart from the nature of that personality, as the secret of the universe.
The Complex Vision John Cowper Powys 1917
-
According to the revelation of man's complex vision this hyper-physical, hyper-psychic "something," which is the concrete centre of will and consciousness and energy, is also the invisible core or base of what we term personality, and, without its real existence, personality can have no permanence.
The Complex Vision John Cowper Powys 1917
-
This does not rob the term personality of its meaning, for each personality does, in some way, after all, exist for itself.
-
If the term personality, as applied to God, means infinite personality, then God is infinite _Person_, - in the sense of infinite personality, but
Science and Health, with Key to the Scriptures Mary Baker Eddy 1865
-
All human beings have wants and desires and to ignore this aspect of their personality is a good way to create a mere viewpoint character, to tour a world.
What Is a Story? marshallpayne1 2009
-
Writing about a slice of your life that seems small but represents your personality is a good way to get noticed, says Karen Crowley, vice president of educational counseling at College Coach and a former senior admissions counselor at University of Pennsylvania.
How To Get Your College Application Noticed Krystle M. Davis 2010
-
Brown has had problem after problem whilst being in office and his personality is attacked from all sides of the debate.
Hidden agenda? « My Liberal Democrat Political Ramblings… 2009
-
And I think the biggest part of their personality is the fact that they are fun-loving and I think people are kind of drawn to that.
-
It's really a fact that Barak Hussein Obama will never win this election, his personality is a big question.
-
The most typical feature of his personality is the antipathic, softly sorrow tone that can be felt even when he describes real things or common themes of the time, for example abandoned gardens, old parks or fountains, places which he approaches via memory or dreams.
October « 2008 « poetry dispatch & other notes from the underground 2008
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.