# persona

/pɝˈsoʊnə/ (US) · /pɜːsˈəʊnɐ/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/persona
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. public image

noun · CEFR B2

the personality or image that you show to other people, which is often different from your private self.

For teachers: the social facade or public face an individual presents to the world, often contrasting with their inner character.

- In public, the politician maintained a friendly persona, but he was actually quite shy.
- The CEO carefully cultivated a persona of approachable humility, despite her reputation for being a ruthless negotiator behind closed doors.

### 2. performance character

noun · CEFR C1 · Formal

a character that an actor or performer creates for the public.

For teachers: a fictional or semi-fictional character adopted by a performer or writer.

- The singer's stage persona is much more aggressive than her real personality.
- The comedian's stage persona was so convincing that fans were often surprised by his quiet, academic nature in real life.

### 3. marketing/design profile

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical · Academic

a description of a typical customer used by companies to help them design products.

For teachers: a representative profile of a target user or customer type, used to guide product development and marketing strategy.

- The design team created a persona named 'Sarah' to represent their average user.
- By developing detailed user personas, the software engineers were able to anticipate the specific technical challenges a novice user might encounter.

## Examples

- He adopts a confident persona when he is on stage.
- The politician worked hard to maintain a friendly, approachable persona during the election campaign.
- In her latest novel, the author adopts the persona of a nineteenth-century explorer to critique the colonial attitudes of that era.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.