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Synonym Chooser

How is the word impassive distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of impassive are apathetic, phlegmatic, stoic, and stolid. While all these words mean "unresponsive to something that might normally excite interest or emotion," impassive stresses the absence of any external sign of emotion in action or facial expression.

met the news with an impassive look

When is apathetic a more appropriate choice than impassive?

The synonyms apathetic and impassive are sometimes interchangeable, but apathetic may imply a puzzling or deplorable indifference or inertness.

charitable appeals met an apathetic response

When is it sensible to use phlegmatic instead of impassive?

Although the words phlegmatic and impassive have much in common, phlegmatic implies a temperament or constitution hard to arouse.

a phlegmatic man unmoved by tears

Where would stoic be a reasonable alternative to impassive?

The words stoic and impassive are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, stoic implies an apparent indifference to pleasure or especially to pain often as a matter of principle or self-discipline.

was resolutely stoic even in adversity

When could stolid be used to replace impassive?

The words stolid and impassive can be used in similar contexts, but stolid implies a habitual absence of interest, responsiveness, or curiosity.

stolid workers wedded to routine

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of impassive Schuyler was impassive and outwardly calm, but in his very calm projected a certain vulnerability. Literary Hub, 14 Aug. 2025 The impassive march of content and the shuffling tread of death. Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 9 Aug. 2025 The calm pool, impassive and lovely, kept tempting me. Hazlitt, 6 Aug. 2025 Blount, who appeared wearing a white button-down shirt and tie, his hands shackled in front of him, his bulging gut and beige tie spilling over his beige pants, appeared impassive and refused to meet his victim’s gaze as Rothschild addressed him personally. Colin Mixson, New York Daily News, 10 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for impassive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impassive
Adjective
  • Bieber isn’t like some stoic pitchers.
    Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
  • In Start of Watch, Harry Bosch, a intensely observant, stoic and unyielding young man, is a probationary patrol officer with the LAPD.
    Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 15 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The bad column was virtually blank.
    Jay Glennie, Deadline, 16 Oct. 2025
  • Taasa looks at him in blank, exhausted disgust and then looks straight into the camera.
    Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 14 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Bale ran to the corner of the pitch, and, having been an expressionless bystander for much of the evening, shouted in ecstasy.
    Hua Hsu, The New Yorker, 21 Nov. 2022
  • The company poured $10 billion into its Reality Labs division last year, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg was criticized last week after posting a selfie that showed an expressionless version of his avatar in front of the Eiffel Tower.
    Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 30 Aug. 2022
Adjective
  • While all this is going on, the rest of the gang is splitting up to find Marie and warn her about Annabeth’s nightmare-premonition of her bloodied, motionless body.
    Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 15 Oct. 2025
  • In the eastbound direction, between the queue of cars and congregation of responders, lay a motionless helicopter, not in the sky, but on the ground; not right-side-up but on its roof.
    Jake Goodrick, Sacbee.com, 11 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • And with a new and enigmatic Duke at the helm, Tintagel is also facing an uncertain future.
    Ellise Shafer, Variety, 8 Oct. 2025
  • Though the television show portrays Gein as a character so eccentric that townspeople don't feel comfortable sharing a nearby seat with him at the local diner, Gein was enigmatic but trustworthy to the locals in his younger years.
    JR Radcliffe, jsonline.com, 6 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Impassive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impassive. Accessed 18 Oct. 2025.

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