Persona Meaning
/pɝˈsoʊnə/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA social role.
nounA character played by an actor.
Sentence Examples
He patterned his stage persona after anime characters.
You are persona non grata.
CEFR Practice Quiz
On social media, she adopted a cheerful ____, but in real life she was often sad.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The actor adopted a completely different ____ for the role, changing his voice and mannerisms.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree Latin persōnabor. English persona Borrowed from Latin persōna (“mask; character”), of uncertain origin. Suggested to be from Etruscan 𐌘𐌄𐌓𐌔𐌖 (φersu, “mask; masked individual; actor”), which could be a loan from Ancient Greek πρόσωπον (prósōpon, “face; appearance; mask used in ancient theatre to denote a character or, more generally, a social role”). Doublet of person and parson.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The latest in a long line of dirty dating tactics to emerge is “wokefishing,” a term coined by writer Serena Smith. “People masquerade as holding progressive political views to ensnare potential partners,” Smith told Vice. Wokefishermen can be thought of like catfishers — those who use fake online personas to defraud victims — but only for sex instead of money."
— 2020 July 30, Ben Cost, “Wokefish’ dating trend: Shady men are pretending to be progressive on apps”, in New York Post, archived from the original on 06 Oct 2020:
"To do so, your organization should create nuanced buyer personas for all relevant market segments or buyer groups that demonstrate affinity to your brand. These buyer personas should include standard demographic information […]"
— 2014, Ira Kaufman, Chris Horton, Digital Marketing, page 128:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
On social media, she adopted a cheerful ____, but in real life she was often sad.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The actor adopted a completely different ____ for the role, changing his voice and mannerisms.