PERSONAL IDENTITY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does personal identity mean? 

• PERSONAL IDENTITY (noun)
  The noun PERSONAL IDENTITY has 1 sense:

1. the distinct personality of an individual regarded as a persisting entity

  Familiarity information: PERSONAL IDENTITY used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PERSONAL IDENTITY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The distinct personality of an individual regarded as a persisting entity

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

identity; individuality; personal identity

Context example:

you can lose your identity when you join the army

Hypernyms ("personal identity" is a kind of...):

personality (the complex of all the attributes--behavioral, temperamental, emotional and mental--that characterize a unique individual)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "personal identity"):

gender identity (your identity as it is experienced with regard to your individuality as male or female; awareness normally begin in infancy and is reinforced during adolescence)

identification (the attribution to yourself (consciously or unconsciously) of the characteristics of another person (or group of persons))

personhood (being a person)

 Context examples 

A disorder characterized by sudden, unexpected travel away from one's home or place of work accompanied by an inability to recall one's past; the individual is confused about his or her personal identity and may assume a new identity.

(Dissociative Fugue, NCI Thesaurus)