Definition of UNINTERESTED

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. when I grow tired or disinterested in anything, I experience a disgust — 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

the teacher decided to make a career change after having to teach yet another class of uninterested teens

Recent Examples on the Web

Abuse runs rampant and white nationalists use it to organize, but Dorsey seems either unwilling or uninterested in tackling these challenges. — Parker Molloy, The Verge, "Roasting Jack Dorsey’s beard may be petty, but it’s also part of a time-honored tradition," 7 Sep. 2018 Aides said Trump has been largely uninterested in the minutiae of managing government agencies and services. — Seung-min Kim, The Seattle Times, "Inside Trump’s defiance on the longest shutdown ever," 13 Jan. 2019 An incurious press corps seems largely uninterested in the appropriate size of the federal workforce. — James Freeman, WSJ, "The 380,000," 8 Jan. 2019 And through the first two years of Trump’s administration, Democrats have been immensely frustrated that Republican majorities have been distinctly uninterested in investigating a great deal of seeming malfeasance. — Andrew Prokop, Vox, "Trump’s free ride from Congress just ended," 7 Nov. 2018 And elsewhere, America’s center of power kept doing business, perhaps too busy, uninterested, or preoccupied to drop everything and glue themselves to the television screens beaming out a stunning moment in U.S. history. — Celeste Katz, Glamour, "A Tale of Two Cities: A Snapshot of Washington D.C. On the Historic Kavanaugh-Ford Hearing Day," 27 Sep. 2018 Another story showed Teigen trying to take a cute photo with her daughter, only for the two-year-old to look visibly uninterested. — Elise Taylor, Vogue, "Chrissy Teigen’s Vacation Is a Guide to Rest, Relaxation, and the Freshest Food in Bali," 27 July 2018 McCain’s skill and persistence brought attention to the issue and moved the bill effectively through a largely uninterested Congress, under an ambivalent president. — Mark Schmitt, Vox, "John McCain’s signature campaign finance law was a real achievement — for its time," 26 Aug. 2018 Senate Republicans could continue to dig next year, but Mr. Mueller seems uninterested. — The Editorial Board, WSJ, "Burying the Other Russia Story," 9 Nov. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'uninterested.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.