passionate

adjective

pas·​sion·​ate ˈpa-sh(ə-)nət 

1

a

: easily aroused to anger

a passionate but not a vicious boy

—H. E. Scudder

b

: filled with anger : angry

was passionate in her defense of her cub, and rage transformed her

—G. D. Brown

2

a

: capable of, affected by, or expressing intense feeling

a passionate performance

a passionate coach

b

: enthusiastic, ardent

is passionate about basketball

3

: swayed by or affected with sexual desire

a passionate love affair

passionateness noun

Synonyms

• intense
• emotional
• enthusiastic
• warm
• ardent
• glowing
• fervent
• demonstrative
• charged
• impassioned
• fiery
• fervid

Choose the Right Synonym for passionate

impassioned, passionate, ardent, fervent, fervid, perfervid mean showing intense feeling.

impassioned implies warmth and intensity without violence and suggests fluent verbal expression.

an impassioned plea for justice

passionate implies great vehemence and often violence and wasteful diffusion of emotion.

a passionate denunciation

ardent implies an intense degree of zeal, devotion, or enthusiasm.

an ardent supporter of human rights

fervent stresses sincerity and steadiness of emotional warmth or zeal.

fervent good wishes

fervid suggests warmly and spontaneously and often feverishly expressed emotion.

fervid love letters

perfervid implies the expression of exaggerated or overwrought feelings.

perfervid expressions of patriotism

Examples of passionate in a Sentence

He gave a passionate speech on tax reform.

She has a passionate interest in animal rights.

She is passionate about art.

We were moved by his passionate plea for forgiveness.

Recent Examples on the Web

Both songs appear to be passionate ballads by the two impressive vocalists, with Erivo lending her melodic riff to Dorothy’s iconic line. —Rachel McRady, PEOPLE, 8 Oct. 2025

Kaif Shaikh Kaif Shaikh is a journalist and writer passionate about turning complex information into clear, impactful stories. —Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 8 Oct. 2025

The family comedy based on the wildly popular video game franchise sounds like a sure thing now but was just as much a risk, again defying expectations by getting waves of passionate fans into theaters and treating the film like a real event. —Brian Welk, IndieWire, 8 Oct. 2025

Castellanos' candid statement isn't wrong as Philadelphia is known for having some of the most passionate fans across all sports, but that intensity cuts both ways. —Shaun McAvoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2a

Rhymes for passionate

• compassionate
• dispassionate

Kids Definition

passionate

adjective

pas·​sion·​ate ˈpash-(ə-)nət 

1

: excited or easily excited to strong feeling

2

: showing or expressing strong feeling

3

: strongly affected with sexual desire

passionately adverb