Meaning & use
personal inventory
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Meanings
nouncountable
An honest written review of your own habits, flaws and strengths, often done as part of recovery or self-improvement.
Grammar: Often used with take or make: take a personal inventory.
Patterns
- take a personal inventory
- make a personal inventory of something
As part of the program, she wrote a personal inventory of her mistakes.
He took a personal inventory before changing jobs.
A fearless personal inventory can be uncomfortable but useful.
nouncountable
A list of the things a person owns, kept for records or insurance.
Grammar: Often followed by of: a personal inventory of belongings.
Patterns
- a personal inventory of something
The insurer asked for a personal inventory of our furniture.
I made a personal inventory before the movers arrived.
Keep your personal inventory in a safe place.
Word forms
| plural | personal inventories |
|---|
Common combinations
- take a personal inventory
- Once a year she takes a personal inventory of her goals.
- a fearless personal inventory
- The step asks for a fearless personal inventory.
- write a personal inventory
- He wrote a personal inventory in a small notebook.
- personal inventory of belongings
- A personal inventory of belongings can speed up an insurance claim.
Synonyms and how they differ
- self-assessment
- Self-assessment is a neutral term for judging yourself, often at work or school, and not necessarily written or moral.
- soul-searching
- Soul-searching describes deep, emotional reflection, while a personal inventory suggests an organized list.
- checklist
- A checklist is a list of tasks to tick, not an honest review of who you are.
Word family
- inventory noun
- a complete list of items
- personal adjective
- belonging to one individual
- personally adverb
- as a private individual
- inventory verb
- to make a list of items
Commonly confused: personal inventory or personnel inventory?
personal inventory vs personnel inventory
Personnel refers to staff, so a personnel inventory is a list of employees' skills, not your own self-review.
Practice
Which use of personal inventory refers to a list of belongings?
Choose one answer.
Listing items in a flat for an insurer is the belongings sense. The other sentences describe honest self-examination.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “personal inventory”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.