persona

noun per·so·na \pər-ˈsō-nə, -ˌnä\

: the way you behave, talk, etc., with other people that causes them to see you as a particular kind of person : the image or personality that a person presents to other people

plural per·so·nae \-(ˌ)nē, -ˌnī\ or personas

Full Definition of PERSONA

: a character assumed by an author in a written work

a plural personas [New Latin, from Latin] : an individual's social facade or front that especially in the analytic psychology of C. G. Jung reflects the role in life the individual is playing — compare anima

b : the personality that a person (as an actor or politician) projects in public : image

plural personae : a character in a fictional presentation (as a novel or play) —usually used in plural <comic personae>

See persona defined for English-language learners

Origin of PERSONA

Latin

First Known Use: 1909

Other Psychology Terms

fetish, hypochondria, intelligence, mania, narcissism, neurosis, pathological, psychosis, schadenfreude, subliminal

Rhymes with PERSONA

abaca, Abdullah, Adana, agora, ahimsa, aloha, Antalya, assignat, Astana, Aymara, baccarat, baklava, Bogotá, brouhaha, cervelat, coup d'état, Cumaná, Delacroix, entrechat, feria, guarana, haftarah, haniwa, Heredia, inshallah, Kashiwa, koruna, Kostroma, la-di-da, ma-and-pa, Machida, Malinois, Mardi Gras, Masséna, Modena, moussaka, Oshawa, pakeha, panama, Panama, Paraná, parashah, pas de trois, pietà, podesta, polenta, polynya, port de bras, reseda, rufiyaa, Shangri-la, tempura, ulema, usquebaugh

Medical Dictionary

persona

noun per·so·na \pər-ˈsō-nə, -ˌnä\

plural personas

Medical Definition of PERSONA

: an individual's social facade or front that especially in the analytic psychology of C. G. Jung reflects the role in life the individual is playing—compare anima 1