dispassionate

adjective

dis·​pas·​sion·​ate (ˌ)dis-ˈpa-sh(ə-)nət How to pronounce dispassionate (audio)
: not influenced by strong feeling
especially : not affected by personal or emotional involvement
a dispassionate critic
a dispassionate approach to an issue
dispassionately adverb
dispassionateness noun
Choose the Right Synonym for dispassionate

fair, just, equitable, impartial, unbiased, dispassionate, objective mean free from favor toward either or any side.

fair implies a proper balance of conflicting interests.

a fair decision

just implies an exact following of a standard of what is right and proper.

a just settlement of territorial claims

equitable implies a less rigorous standard than just and usually suggests equal treatment of all concerned.

the equitable distribution of the property

impartial stresses an absence of favor or prejudice.

an impartial third party

unbiased implies even more strongly an absence of all prejudice.

your unbiased opinion

dispassionate suggests freedom from the influence of strong feeling and often implies cool or even cold judgment.

a dispassionate summation of the facts

objective stresses a tendency to view events or persons as apart from oneself and one's own interest or feelings.

I can't be objective about my own child

Examples of dispassionate in a Sentence

Journalists aim to be dispassionate observers. He spoke in a dispassionate tone about the accident.
Recent Examples on the Web There are no scholarly talking heads, no dispassionate journalists; political figures are seen only in archival footage. Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2023 An unusually matter-of-fact, sober, and dispassionate exploration of the political institutions and arrangements governing the territory once ruled by the British in their Palestine Mandate, this book is a model of scholarly engagement with challenging political issues. Lisa Anderson, Foreign Affairs, 22 Aug. 2023 In a 2022 interview, the new leader framed his quest as a dispassionate, empirical endeavor. Cody Cottier, Discover Magazine, 17 Aug. 2023 In this way, the exhibition offers an alternative model to Euro-American business-as-usual, which often excluded source communities from interpreting their own material culture, leaving that to scholars who tend to view works through a dispassionate art historical lens. Patricia Leigh Brown, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2023 Erpenbeck is not a writer who coddles her readers, starting with the coolly dispassionate narrative voice of her fiction, a studied craft that skillfully heightens emotional heft by maintaining tension between what is being conveyed and how it is conveyed. Cory Oldweiler, BostonGlobe.com, 15 June 2023 The voice is clinical and dispassionate in the manner of therapy, but there is empathy in the tone. David L. Coddon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 July 2023 With the circuit’s dominance challenged by LIV Golf, an upstart built with billions of dollars from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the tour felt closer to a cooperative than a dispassionate titan of professional sports. Alan Blinder, New York Times, 17 June 2023 In Joan, Wang has created a compelling character, utterly distinct, and the novel is carried by her dispassionate, clear-eyed, and often drily amusing narration. Matthew Gavin Frank, Harper's Magazine, 21 Jan. 2022 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dispassionate.' 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

1594, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of dispassionate was in 1594

Dictionary Entries Near dispassionate

Cite this Entry

“Dispassionate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dispassionate. Accessed 25 Sep. 2023.

Kids Definition

dispassionate

adjective
dis·​pas·​sion·​ate (ˈ)dis-ˈpash-(ə-)nət How to pronounce dispassionate (audio)
: not influenced by strong feeling : calm, impartial
a dispassionate judge
dispassionately adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on dispassionate

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