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personally

/ˈpʌrs(ə)nəli/
/ˈpʌsənəli/
IPA guide

When you do something personally, you do it yourself. If you promise you'll personally sell Girl Scout cookies to your neighbors, you can't just put flyers in their mailboxes or make your brother knock on their doors.

Doing things personally means doing them in person, often not involving anyone else. If the grand prize of a contest involves your favorite movie star personally driving you around Hollywood in a Rolls Royce, it means she'll be the one behind the wheel. Another way to use this word is to mean "privately," as when someone's work life is great but they're really struggling personally. You can also use personally to refer to yourself: "Personally, I prefer vanilla ice cream."

Definitions of personally
  1. adverb
    in the flesh; without involving anyone else
    “I went there personally
    synonyms: in person
  2. adverb
    concerning the speaker
    personally, I find him stupid”
  3. adverb
    as yourself
    “speaking personally, I would not want to go”
  4. adverb
    as a person
    “he is personally repulsive”
  5. adverb
    in a personal way
    “he took her comments personally
    see moresee less
    antonyms:
    impersonally
    without warmth
Pronunciation
US
/ˈpʌrs(ə)nəli/
UK
/ˈpʌsənəli/
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘personally'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
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