Personalize Meaning
/ˈpɜː.sə.nə.laɪz/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo adapt something to the needs or tastes of an individual.
verbTo represent something abstract as a person; to embody.
Sentence Examples
Could you show me how to personalize my desktop?
I think it would be difficult to personalize every wedding invitation.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
You can ____ your phone case with your name and favorite colors.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The gift shop offered to ____ items with names and dates for an additional fee.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree Middle English personal English personal Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íďďō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō)bor. Late Latin -izōder. Middle French -iserbor. Middle English -isen English -ize English personalize From personal + -ize.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"These "Eternal Ones of the Dream" are not to be confused with the personally modified symbolic figures that appear in nightmare and madness to the still tormented individual. Dream is the personalized myth, myth the depersonalized dream; both myth and dream are symbolic in the same general way of the dynamics of the psyche."
— 1968, Joseph Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, 2nd edition, London: Fontana Press, published 1993, page 19:
"“Over the past month, the Department has held three separate meetings with the ACLU to receive feedback and engage the organization in the solutions,” the department said in a statement. “As a result of the meetings, the Department agrees that publishing FIO statistics going forward is necessary, and the Department is working toward personalizing interactions between officers and citizens.”"
— 2014 October 9, Marina Carver, “Study finds Boston police target African-Americans disproportionately”, in CNN:
"In a draft of their paper, the unnamed researchers describe how they not only used AI to generate responses, but attempted to personalize its replies based on information gleaned from the original poster’s prior Reddit history."
— 2025 April 28, Karissa Bell, “Researchers secretly experimented on Reddit users with AI-generated comments”, in Engadget:
"Gloria Hull, best known as a Black Feminist literary critic, expands and personalizes her examination of creative thought in her first collection of poetry, Healing Heart."
— 1989 December 17, Terri L. Jewell, “A Poet's Revolution Of Life”, in Gay Community News, volume 17, number 23, page 7:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
You can ____ your phone case with your name and favorite colors.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The gift shop offered to ____ items with names and dates for an additional fee.