Nearby Words
Related Questions

persona

[per-soh-nuh] Example Sentences Origin

per·so·na

[per-soh-nuh]
noun, plural -nae [-nee] , -nas.
1.
a person.
2.
personae, the characters in a play, novel, etc.
3.
the narrator of or a character in a literary work, sometimes identified with the author.
4.
(in the psychology of C. G. Jung) the mask or façade presented to satisfy the demands of the situation or the environment and not representing the inner personality of the individual; the public personality (contrasted with anima).
5.
a person's perceived or evident personality, as that of a well-known official, actor, or celebrity; personal image; public role.

Origin:
1905–10; < Latin persōna mask, character. See person
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To persona

:10

:09

:08

:07

:06

:05

:04

:03

:02

:01

Persona is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
Example Sentences
  • He just has this amazingly cool vibe and persona.
  • How “cheeky” you get really may depend on your own persona, the energy of the interview, and how well you can read the room.
  • We could have been caught, labeled persona non grata, and asked to leave the country.
EXPAND
Collins
World English Dictionary
persona (pɜːˈsəʊnə)
 
n , pl -nae
1.  (often plural) a character in a play, novel, etc
2.  an assumed identity or character
3.  (in Jungian psychology) the mechanism that conceals a person's true thoughts and feelings, esp in his adaptation to the outside world
 
[Latin: mask]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

persona
1917, "outward or social personality," a Jungian psychology term, from L. persona "person" (see person). Used earlier (1909) by Ezra Pound in the sense "literary character representing voice of the author." Persona grata (1882) is from L.L., lit. "an acceptable person," originally
EXPAND
applied to diplomatic representatives acceptable to the governments to which they were sent; persona non grata is attested from 1904 (pl. is personæ non gratæ).
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

persona per·so·na (pər-sō'nə)
n. pl. per·so·nas or per·so·nae (-nē)
The role that one assumes or displays in public or society; one's public image or personality, as distinguished from the inner self.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia

persona

in literature, the person who is understood to be speaking (or thinking or writing) a particular work. The persona is almost invariably distinct from the author; it is the voice chosen by the author for a particular artistic purpose. The persona may be a character in the work or merely an unnamed narrator; but, insofar as the manner and style of expression in the work exhibit taste, prejudice, emotion, or other characteristics of a human personality, the work may be said to be in the voice of a persona

Learn more about persona with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Cite This Source
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature