Phrase guide

public figure

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A famous person whose life is the subject of public interest.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a well-known or notable person

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • they studied all the great names in the history of France
  • she is an important figure in modern music

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: name, figure

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: important person, influential person, personage

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

23 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Armenian: հանրային անձ (hanrayin anj) — person subject to public interest
  • Chinese Mandarin: 知名人士 (zhīmíng rénshì) — person subject to public interest
  • Chinese Mandarin: 公眾人物 /公众人物 (gōngzhòng rénwù) — person subject to public interest
  • Chinese Mandarin: 社會名人 /社会名人 (shèhuì míngrén) — person subject to public interest
  • Dutch: publiek figuur — person subject to public interest
  • Dutch: bekend persoon — person subject to public interest
  • Finnish: julkisuuden henkilö — person subject to public interest
  • Finnish: julkkis — person subject to public interest
  • French: célébrité — person subject to public interest
  • Galician: persoeiro — person subject to public interest
  • Galician: celebridade — person subject to public interest
  • Georgian: საზოგადო მოღვაწე (sazogado moɣvac̣e) — person subject to public interest
  • German: Persönlichkeit des öffentlichen Lebens — person subject to public interest
  • German: Person des öffentlichen Lebens — person subject to public interest
  • German: öffentliche Person — person subject to public interest
  • Greek: δημόσιο πρόσωπο (dimósio prósopo) — person subject to public interest
  • Hungarian: közéleti személy — person subject to public interest
  • Korean: 공인 (gong'in) — person subject to public interest
  • Malay: tokoh masyarakat — person subject to public interest
  • Portuguese: figura pública — person subject to public interest
  • Russian: обще́ственный де́ятель (obščéstvennyj déjatelʹ) — person subject to public interest
  • Spanish: personaje público — person subject to public interest
  • Ukrainian: грома́дський дія́ч (hromádsʹkyj dijáč) — person subject to public interest