PERSONA

Pronunciation (US): (GB):

Irregular inflected form: personae

I. (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(Jungian psychology) a personal facade that one presents to the world

Example:

a public image is as fragile as Humpty Dumpty

Synonyms:

image; persona

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("persona" is a kind of...):

appearance; visual aspect (outward or visible aspect of a person or thing)

Domain category:

psychological science; psychology (the science of mental life)

Carl Gustav Jung; Carl Jung; Jung (Swiss psychologist (1875-1961))

Derivation:

personify (represent, as of a character on stage)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An actor's portrayal of someone in a play

Example:

she played the part of Desdemona

Synonyms:

character; part; persona; role; theatrical role

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("persona" is a kind of...):

characterization; enactment; personation; portrayal (acting the part of a character on stage; dramatically representing the character by speech and action and gesture)

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

bit part; minor role (a small role)

heavy (a serious (or tragic) role in a play)

hero (the principal character in a play or movie or novel or poem)

ingenue (the role of an innocent artless young woman in a play)

name part; title role (the role of the character after whom the play is named)

heroine (the main good female character in a work of fiction)

baddie; villain (the principal bad character in a film or work of fiction)

Derivation:

impersonate (represent another person with comic intentions)

impersonate (assume or act the character of)