Meaning & use
a personal touch
Last updated
Meaning
nounsingularapproving
A small thoughtful detail that shows care for a particular person, making something feel less impersonal.
Grammar: Usually singular: add a personal touch.
Patterns
- add a personal touch
- give something a personal touch
The handwritten note added a personal touch to the gift.
Small hotels often offer a personal touch that big chains lack.
She decorated the table with family photos for a personal touch.
Common combinations
- add a personal touch
- Add a personal touch by using the guest's name.
- lack a personal touch
- The email lacked a personal touch.
- with a personal touch
- The shop serves customers with a personal touch.
- give it a personal touch
- Give your resume a personal touch.
Synonyms and how they differ
- human touch
- Human touch highlights warmth rather than being tailored to one person.
- special touch
- Special touch is wider and need not involve a specific person.
- individual attention
- Individual attention is more formal and focuses on time spent with someone.
Opposites
Word family
- personal adjective
- of or for one person
- personalize verb
- to make suit one person
- personalized adjective
- made for one person
- personally adverb
- in person or individually
Commonly confused: a personal touch or personnel?
a personal touch vs personnel
Personnel means the staff of an organization and is stressed on the last syllable.
Practice
A hotel leaves a welcome card with each guest's name. This adds:
Choose one answer.
A card with the guest's name shows individual care, which is a personal touch. The others are unrelated.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “a personal touch”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.