personhood

American

[pur-suhn-hood] / ˈpɜr sənˌhʊd /

noun

the state or fact of being a person.
the state or fact of being an individual or having human characteristics and feelings.

a harsh prison system that deprives prisoners of their personhood.

personhood British

/ ˈp£ːsənˌhʊd /

noun

the condition of being a person who is an individual with inalienable rights, esp under the 14th Amendment of the Constitution of the United States

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of personhood

First recorded in 1955–60; person + -hood

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The sense of individual personhood was not what it is today, and you could absolutely feel that the children of your enemy were part of the same unit as your enemy.

From Salon

And I was like, wow, those moments are maybe connected to this feeling of independence and a new kind of personhood that for a child is exhilarating and also really scary.

From The Wall Street Journal

Some will worry this line of thinking leads to legal personhood and rights for chatbots.

From The Wall Street Journal

Private, lyric utterances—expressions of personhood—complement public statements.

From The Wall Street Journal

It’s a reminder that when someone tries to dehumanize you, laughing in their face can be a declaration of personhood.

From Salon

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023