Meaning & use
split personality disorder
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Meanings
nouncountableinformal
a mental condition in which one person seems to have two or more separate identities that control their behavior at different times
Grammar: Use it with a/an or in the plural: she was diagnosed with a split personality disorder.
Patterns
- have a split personality disorder
- be diagnosed with a split personality disorder
- treat a split personality disorder
The film wrongly suggests that a split personality disorder makes people violent.
In older books, a split personality disorder was often called multiple personality disorder.
She studied how a split personality disorder affects memory and daily life.
nounsingularfigurativeinformal
used loosely for any situation in which someone behaves very differently at different times, as if they were two people
Grammar: Often used figuratively and slightly disapprovingly, not as a medical diagnosis.
Patterns
- have a split personality
- show a split personality
My boss seems to have a split personality disorder: kind in the morning, furious by lunch.
The team's split personality disorder shows in their home and away results.
Word forms
| plural | split personality disorders |
|---|
Common combinations
- be diagnosed with a split personality disorder
- He was diagnosed with a split personality disorder after years of therapy.
- suffer from a split personality disorder
- People who suffer from a split personality disorder may lose time without knowing why.
- a form of split personality disorder
- Some researchers see it as a form of split personality disorder.
- the symptoms of a split personality disorder
- The symptoms of a split personality disorder usually appear after severe childhood trauma.
Synonyms and how they differ
- dissociative identity disorder
- The modern medical term; use it in formal or clinical writing, not 'split personality disorder'.
- multiple personality disorder
- An older name for the same condition; it is also no longer the official medical term.
Word family
- split personality noun
- The shorter, informal name for the same condition or for a person who changes behavior suddenly.
Commonly confused: split personality disorder or schizophrenia?
split personality disorder vs schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a different condition with hallucinations and disordered thinking; it does not mean having separate personalities.
Practice
Doctors today prefer which term for what people informally call 'split personality disorder'?
Choose one answer.
Dissociative identity disorder is the current medical name for the condition. Bipolar disorder involves mood swings, and schizophrenia involves hallucinations and disorganized thinking, not separate identities.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “split personality disorder”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.