persona non grata

persona non grata

A person who has been totally disowned or is no longer acceptable or welcome, especially in or to a foreign government. From Latin, literally meaning "an unacceptable person"; its plural is personae non gratae. Following the president's orders, the members of the foreign embassy were declared personae non gratae. Due to his ties to the extremist group, the senator has become a persona non grata among politicians.

See also: non

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

perˌsona non ˈgrata

(from Latin) a person who is not welcome in a particular place because of something they have said or done: Persona non grata in Hollywood, Jake moved to New York to try and make a living on the stage.

The meaning of non grata is ‘not pleasing’.

See also: non

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

persona non grata

An undesirable individual; a person out of favor. The term persona grata is Latin for “an acceptable person” and was used to describe diplomats acceptable to the government to which they were accredited. When such a person was, for some reason, no longer acceptable, he or she became persona non grata and would have to be recalled. From the late nineteenth century on, however, the term was also used more loosely for someone who had gotten in trouble or simply was disliked. The OED cites a 1958 issue of the Oxford Mail: “The BMC management should have known that the introduction of two or three people who are persona non grata with the other 350 men in the shop would create difficulty.”

See also: non

The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer