Personality Meaning
/pɜː.səˈnæ.lə.tɪ/Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounOf people, a set of non-physical psychological and social qualities that make one person distinct from another.
nounOf people, charisma; qualities that make a person stand out from the crowd.
Sentence Examples
There are a lot of things you don't know about my personality.
I don't like his shallow personality.
His wife has a strong personality.
CEFR Practice Quiz
His warm and generous ____ made him very popular among his coworkers.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Her warm and outgoing ____ made her instantly popular with everyone she met.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English personalite, from Middle French [Term?], from Latin persōnālitās. First attested in the late 14th century. By surface analysis, personal + -ity.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Personality is individuality existing in itself, but with a nature as a ground."
— c. 1828, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Notes on Field on the Church:
"Meanwhile Nanny Broome was recovering from her initial panic and seemed anxious to make up for any kudos she might have lost, by exerting her personality to the utmost. She took the policeman's helmet and placed it on a chair, and unfolded his tunic to shake it and fold it up again for him."
— 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 19, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
"But over and over / I´ll be a fool for you / 'cause you got personality."
— 1959, Lloyd Price, Personality:
"Dubbels typically have a rich, complex, malt-centered personality and a copper or caramel color."
— 2017, Janet Fletcher, Cheese & Beer, page 35:
"Sharp personalities were exchanged."
— 1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter XI, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC:
Explore More A2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
His warm and generous ____ made him very popular among his coworkers.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Her warm and outgoing ____ made her instantly popular with everyone she met.