dispassion

noun

dis·​pas·​sion (ˌ)dis-ˈpa-shən How to pronounce dispassion (audio)
: absence of passion : coolness

Examples of dispassion in a Sentence

She viewed the problem with the weary dispassion of a police officer who had seen everything.
Recent Examples on the Web But dispassion is not their strong suit. The Intersection, Discover Magazine, 27 July 2011 Traditional journalism emphasized values and norms like balance, dispassion. Chris Mooney, Discover Magazine, 31 May 2011 The cowboys are loading their guns with dispassion and buckshot. Luther Ray Abel, National Review, 23 June 2022 Ina understood that nobody wanted to hear of her sorrow or her fear or loss or anything to indicate her passion or dispassion for life. Ottessa Moshfegh, Harper’s Magazine , 25 May 2022 With critical dispassion, mixed with internal queasiness. Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 2 May 2022 The business today tends to reduce artists to hit singles, treating those tracks with the same dispassion as traders evaluating stocks. Elias Leight, Rolling Stone, 6 Jan. 2022 The strength of the Uyghur Tribunal’s judgment last week lies in its caution, dispassion and legal rigor. Benedict Rogers, WSJ, 12 Dec. 2021 But the characters are far more complicated individuals than are likely to be found in a sitcom; their stunted interiority is explored with a combination of empathy and dispassion. Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 23 Aug. 2021 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dispassion.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1692, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of dispassion was in 1692

Dictionary Entries Near dispassion

Cite this Entry

“Dispassion.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dispassion. Accessed 4 Oct. 2023.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!