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

• concupiscent
• goatish
• horny
• hot
• hypersexual
• itchy
• lascivious
• lecherous
• lewd
• libidinous
• licentious
• lubricious
• lubricous
• lustful
• oversexed
• randy
• salacious
• satyric
• wanton

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

When Netflix released America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders in June 2024, millions of viewers tuned in to watch as a passionate group of dancers embarked on a rigorous audition process with hopes of making it on the elite NFL cheerleading team for the 2023 season. —Maddie Garfinkle, Peoplemag, 23 July 2024

Back to top Family-first Millennials Family-first Millennials: Diverse Republican millennial single parents who are passionate about mental health care and supporting underprivileged youth. —Jim Sergent, USA TODAY, 22 July 2024

Whereas, there are a huge number of us who are passionate and joyful about the category but sometimes get a bit stuck about where to go and what to look for. —Tianwei Zhang, WWD, 22 July 2024

In the same vein, the vice president has been a passionate and compelling advocate for reproductive freedom (a topic Biden seems uncomfortable discussing), evidenced in dozens of her speeches and public appearances. —Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post, 21 July 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

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