PERSONAL

[adjective]Personal means relating or belonging to a single or particular person rather than to a group or an organization.I don't know what anyone else thinks, but my personal opinion/view is that the students should be doing more work outside the classroom.Her uncle takes a personal interest in her progress.She has her own personal secretary/bodyguard/fitness instructor.Passengers are reminded to take all their personal belongings with them when they leave the plane.He was sacked from his job for abusing his power for personal gain (= using his powerful position to obtain a financial advantage).A personal action is one which is done by someone directly rather than getting another person to do it.The health minister made a personal appearance at the hospital.I will give the matter my personal attention.Personal also means private or relating to someone's private life.The letter was marked 'Personal. Strictly confidential.'Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?His resignation was apparently for personal rather than professional reasons.For such a famous, wealthy man, his personal life was surprisingly simple and ordinary.Personal also refers to an intentionally offensive remark about someone's character or appearance.Did you have to make such a personal remark/comment about her new haircut?There's no need to get personal (= You should not make such an offensive remark about me).Personal is also used to refer to your body or appearance.She is obsessed with personal hygiene.A personal ad is an advertisement that you put in a newspaper or magazine, often in order to find a sexual partner.He placed/put a personal ad in The Times.(UK specialized) A personal allowance is an amount of money that you can earn before you start to be taxed.(UK and ANZ) A personal column/(US) The personals is the part of a newspaper or magazine which contains short advertisements and private messages.She placed/put an ad in the personal column which read 'Intelligent, attractive woman seeks humorous man for romance and perhaps marriage.'A personal computer ( PC) is a medium-sized computer which is used mainly by people at home rather than by large organizations.Personal effects are things that you own which are movable, and which you often carry with you, such as keys or clothing .After she had identified the body of her husband, the police asked her to collect his personal effects.Personal identification number is formal for PIN (number).A personal organizer (also trademark filofax) is a small book or electronic device in which information is stored, such as names, addresses, telephone numbers and dates of meetings, and which people use to help them organize their time.(specialized) In grammar, a personal pronoun is a word such as 'I', 'you' and 'they' which refers to a person in speech or in writing.(legal) Personal property is the things you own which are movable, such as money or furniture.A personal stereo (also trademark Walkman) is a small electronic machine that plays music and which has headphones so that you can listen to music while you are doing other things.Something which has the personal touch has original or special qualities, or is done for every single person in a group in order to make them feel special.My hotel room was totally devoid of any personal touch.The chairman of the bank believes in the personal touch and always sends a signed letter to each customer.