uninterested
adjective
Disinterested vs. Uninterested: Usage Guide
Disinterested and uninterested have a tangled history. Uninterested originally meant impartial, but this sense fell into disuse during the 18th century. About the same time the original sense of disinterested also disappeared, with uninterested developing a new sense—the present meaning—to take its place. The original sense of uninterested is still out of use, but the original sense of disinterested revived in the early 20th century. The revival has since been under frequent attack as an illiteracy and a blurring or loss of a useful distinction. Actual usage shows otherwise. The "free from selfish interest" sense of disinterested is still its most frequent sense, especially in edited prose; it shows no sign of vanishing. Further, disinterested has developed an additional sense—"no longer interested"—perhaps influenced by the "deprive of" sense of the prefix dis-, that contrasts with uninterested.
Jack London, letter, 1914
Still, use of the "not interested" and "no longer interested" senses of disinterested will incur the disapproval of some who may not fully appreciate the history of this word or the subtleties of its present use.
Examples of uninterested in a Sentence
Michael Goldstein, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
Despite her Oscar win, Matlin would repeatedly have to advocate for herself in an industry seemingly uninterested in Deaf characters.
—Tim Grierson, Los Angeles Times, 27 June 2025
The wolves remain undisturbed and, for the most part, uninterested.
Toward the end of April, staff counted some 768 adults in the colony, breaking the previous record of 751 in mid-May 2022.
—Adriana Pérez, Chicago Tribune, 4 June 2025
Lumen has seemed uninterested in maintaining the copper network, and long outages often aren't fixed until a customer asks Ars Technica for help.
—ArsTechnica, 22 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for uninterested
Cite this Entry
“Uninterested.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/uninterested. Accessed 13 Jul. 2025.
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