personal

per|son|al

W1S1 [ˈpə:sənəl US ˈpə:r-] adj

1.) [only before noun]

belonging or relating to one particular person, rather than to other people or to people in general

▪ My personal view is that we shouldn't offer him the job.

▪ Style and colour are a matter of personal taste .

▪ She took full personal responsibility for all the arrangements.

▪ When I went to her room all her personal belongings had gone.

▪ After Alan's death, his mother received his personal effects .

▪ I know from personal experience that you can't trust Ralph.

▪ the personal qualities needed to be successful in business

▪ The car is for personal use only.

▪ On a personal level he felt sympathy for them, but he had a job to do.

▪ celebrities with their own personal trainer

2.) relating to the private areas of your life

▪ I don't answer questions about my personal life .

▪ May I ask you a personal question ?

▪ the records will include other personal details such as nationality, date of birth and address

▪ He's got a few personal problems at the moment.

▪ The envelope was marked 'Personal and Confidential'.

▪ We're not allowed to make personal phone calls at work.

3.) involving rude or upsetting criticism of someone

▪ It's unprofessional to make such personal remarks.

▪ a bitter personal attack on the president

▪ There's no need to get personal !

(it's) nothing personal

(=used to tell someone that you are not criticizing them)

▪ It's nothing personal, I just have to go home now.

4.) if you give something your personal care or attention, you deal with it yourself instead of asking someone else to do it

▪ Small companies can devote more personal attention to each project.

▪ As you get promoted in a firm you lose that personal contact (=meeting and dealing with people yourself) .

5.) personal friend

someone who you know well, especially a famous or important person

personal friend of

▪ Apparently the director is a personal friend of hers.

6.) [only before noun]

relating to your body or the way you look

▪ Grant was always fussy about his personal appearance .

▪ the importance of personal hygiene

7.) personal touch

something you do to make something special, or that makes someone feel special

▪ It's those extra personal touches that make our service better.

8.) personal best

the fastest time, most points etc that a ↑sportsman or ↑sportswoman has ever achieved

▪ I ran 20.51 seconds for a personal best.

9.) personal development

improvements in your character and skills

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COLLOCATES for sense 1

somebody's (own) personal view/opinion

personal taste/preference

personal possessions/property/belongings

personal effects (=small possessions, clothing, documents etc)

(know something from) personal experience

personal qualities

take a personal interest (in something)

for personal use

on a personal level (=used for giving your own opinion, rather than that of an organization etc you represent)

personal trainer/bodyguard/assistant (=someone who works for you and only you)

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