1
as in stoic
not feeling or showing emotion
she remained impassive as the officers informed her of her son's death
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in blank
not expressing any emotion
an impassive expression on the prisoner's face as his sentence was read
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in impassiveness
a lack of emotion or emotional expressiveness
the killer's apparent impassivity as he dispatched his victims
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2024
Our first Killarney run combined the fervent greenness of the previous day with the impassive steepness of our earlier outings.
—Alexandra Kleeman, Travel + Leisure, 17 Oct. 2024
The first 18-plus of its 22 seasons were led by Mark Harmon as Leroy Jethro Gibbs, the impassive Special Agent in Charge and boss extraordinaire who liked to build boats in his basement in his spare time.
—Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, 14 Oct. 2024
The carved, impassive face that suddenly droops, drags, goes baggy with the weight of being alive.
—James Parker, The Atlantic, 12 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for impassive
Adjective
As for the Bruckner, the Berliners succeeded in animating a figure who is too often treated as an impassive statue.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2024
Our first Killarney run combined the fervent greenness of the previous day with the impassive steepness of our earlier outings.
—Alexandra Kleeman, Travel + Leisure, 17 Oct. 2024
The first 18-plus of its 22 seasons were led by Mark Harmon as Leroy Jethro Gibbs, the impassive Special Agent in Charge and boss extraordinaire who liked to build boats in his basement in his spare time.
—Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, 14 Oct. 2024
The carved, impassive face that suddenly droops, drags, goes baggy with the weight of being alive.
—James Parker, The Atlantic, 12 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for impassive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impassive
Adjective
-
By placing both Washington and the camera filming him in close-up on a moving dolly outside the ballroom, Lee created the impression that Malcolm was floating through space, in a trance of stoic anticipation.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
2 May 2025
-
Since the org partnered with Three Camel Lodge in 2020 to expand the breeding program, visitors to the camp can meet the stoic (but still quite cute and fluffy) guardian dogs.—
AFAR Media,
AFAR Media,
25 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Rivera climbed into Feliz’s car; threatened, beat, and tased him, and then shot him in the chest point blank.—
Lourdes Rosado,
New York Daily News,
30 Apr. 2025
-
His most lucrative title at one point was a blank book—a patented scrapbook of his own invention.—
Lauren Michele Jackson,
New Yorker,
28 Apr. 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
Noun
-
There’s already enough apathy within the fan base after this year.—
William Guillory,
New York Times,
11 Apr. 2025
-
Rethinking apathy in disease Our discovery has implications far beyond cancer.—
Adam Kepecs,
The Conversation,
10 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Julianne Moore toes the line between enigmatic socialite and cult leader in the new trailer for Sirens, a new limited series premiering May 22 on Netflix.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
25 Apr. 2025
-
The city—ever elegant, ever enigmatic—set the stage for one of the magazine’s most iconic stories: The Last Waltz, Mario Testino’s sweeping September 2006 editorial starring Natalia Vodianova as a modern-day empress gliding through Schönbrunn and beyond.—
Lilah Ramzi,
Vogue,
24 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Common symptoms of pneumonia include chest pain when breathing or coughing; fatigue; fever, sweating and shaking chills; nausea or vomiting; and a cough that produces phlegm, according to the Mayo Clinic.—
Adrianna Rodriguez,
USA Today,
2 Apr. 2025
-
Common symptoms of pneumonia include chest pain when breathing or coughing; fatigue; fever, sweating and shaking chills; nausea or vomiting; and a cough that produces phlegm, according to the Mayo Clinic.—
Adrianna Rodriguez,
USA Today,
2 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
House Bill 5089 by Rep. Charlie Geren, a Fort Worth Republican, clarifies that the process of detachment must go through voters.—
Eleanor Dearman,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
29 Apr. 2025
-
Culturally, this detachment from feeling led to a loss of emotional literacy.—
Nancy Zamierowski,
Forbes.com,
25 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Impassive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impassive. Accessed 13 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share