alter ego
5
6.5
- noun
- /ˈɔltər ˈiːɡoʊ/
:
alter ego
It is a pleasure to share a stage with Richard Wolf, who I consider my alter ego in a parallel universe.
- It is a pleasure to share a stage with Richard Wolf, who I consider my alter ego in a parallel universe.
Examples
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I write in the first person for the YA crowd, and my alter ego writes in the third person for the adult crowd.
Blog text (19) -
Her alter ego is a domestic goddess and nurse entrepreneur.
Blog text (5) -
He is my alter ego, a hard-ass producer type who makes sure I stay in touch with the mania of commercial movies that exist in Hollywood.
Blog text (19) -
This is a great article; I'm starting to get curious about all these alter egos, the obvious ones being Beyoncé/Sasha Fierce.
Blog text (13) -
Ganivet's alter ego, Pio Cid, sets out to do precisely this: to teach his countrymen to learn to use their intellect and to begin to think coherently.
Academic text (1992) -
Ella considers Jenna to be her alter ego because they share the same thoughts and dreams.
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As her alter ego, he feels free to express his artistic side without any fear.
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Samantha often confides in her alter ego, whom she believes understands her better than anyone else.
Antonyms
How Close
Surface Forms
Morphology
alter + ego
The phrase literally corresponds to 'other self' (Latin alter = other, ego = self), so if a learner recognizes the constituents in that sense the meaning 'second identity/personality' is directly inferable. However, 'alter' is not commonly known by B1 learners in its 'other' sense (in English it more often means 'to change'), and 'ego' has a technical psychological sense, so the relation is only partially predictable for average learners.
Etymology
The noun alter ego comes from the words alter and ego, which mean 'other' and 'I'. It paints the picture of someone so close they feel like a second 'I', so the phrase is used for a very close, trusted friend.