Definition of passionatenext

Synonym Chooser

How is the word passionate different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of passionate are ardent, fervent, fervid, impassioned, and perfervid. While all these words mean "showing intense feeling," passionate implies great vehemence and often violence and wasteful diffusion of emotion.

a passionate denunciation

When could ardent be used to replace passionate?

While in some cases nearly identical to passionate, ardent implies an intense degree of zeal, devotion, or enthusiasm.

an ardent supporter of human rights

When is it sensible to use fervent instead of passionate?

Although the words fervent and passionate have much in common, fervent stresses sincerity and steadiness of emotional warmth or zeal.

fervent good wishes

When is fervid a more appropriate choice than passionate?

While the synonyms fervid and passionate are close in meaning, fervid suggests warmly and spontaneously and often feverishly expressed emotion.

fervid love letters

When can impassioned be used instead of passionate?

The words impassioned and passionate are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, impassioned implies warmth and intensity without violence and suggests fluent verbal expression.

an impassioned plea for justice

When might perfervid be a better fit than passionate?

The words perfervid and passionate can be used in similar contexts, but perfervid implies the expression of exaggerated or overwrought feelings.

perfervid expressions of patriotism

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 passionate Roy pointed to the show’s passionate fanbase and remarkable repeat viewership as evidence of its resonance with audiences. Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 28 Mar. 2026 Fans are going to be passionate. Dallas Morning News, 28 Mar. 2026 With The Hunt for Gollum on track for 2027 and Shadows of the Past set to follow, the Lord of the Rings franchise is charting an ambitious path forward — with one of its most passionate fans now helping to shape its future from behind the keyboard. Ryan Brennan, Kansas City Star, 26 Mar. 2026 This doesn’t mean that fans aren’t passionate. Bill Goodykoontz, AZCentral.com, 26 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for passionate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for passionate
Adjective
  • For the seventh year in a row, Walmart captured more money from Charlotte-area shoppers than any other grocery store, despite intense competition from local grocers like Harris Teeter and Food Lion.
    Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 2 Apr. 2026
  • Graves’ exit has sparked intense speculation about his potential successor to represent Missouri’s 6th Congressional District, which stretches across northern Missouri and touches Kansas City’s Northland.
    Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 1 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • The play, like the movie, is loosely based on a robbery that took place in 1972, on a boiling-hot August day, when an eccentric, deep-in-debt Vietnam veteran named John Wojtowicz entered a Chase bank in Brooklyn with a gun and two accomplices, hoping for a quick score.
    Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 2 Apr. 2026
  • Rather than offering just the standard facials and massages (which are also on the menu), the spa has red and blue light therapy and a treatment where guests can alternate between a hot sauna and a cold plunge.
    Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • Around this time Denise and Aaron filed a civil lawsuit against the City of Vallejo claiming defamation and emotional distress.
    Lauren Clark, CBS News, 29 Mar. 2026
  • An opportunity to rebuild your emotional foundation arrives as Saturn teams up with Pluto.
    USA TODAY, USA Today, 28 Mar. 2026
Adjective
  • White is excited about his future, and plans to perform at this year's Minnesota State Fair.
    Tony Peterson, CBS News, 30 Mar. 2026
  • But the nail in the coffin for her family was the bike course, which her niece was most excited for.
    Rebecca Cohen, NBC news, 30 Mar. 2026
Adjective
  • Harmony and an enthusiastic attitude between soldiers are preferred and essential, especially in combat.
    Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 3 Apr. 2026
  • The clips have accumulated millions of views and many enthusiastic comments from Western audiences.
    Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 2 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • This Valentine’s Day, why not treat yourself to a perfume that beckons lustful strangers in a way not seen since Monica Bellucci at that Sicilian piazza in Malèna.
    Air Mail, Air Mail, 14 Feb. 2026
  • The two admit to having always loved each other (that's not a spoiler; the book is nearly 200 years old) and begin a steamy, lustful affair.
    Amanda Luberto, AZCentral.com, 11 Feb. 2026
Adjective
  • The Inn stays shut during winter and ‘pack ice’ season, which some locals will tell you is the most beautiful time of all—for snowmobiling and snowshoeing through the Island’s interior by day, and come evening, getting invited into someone's warm shed for a tipple and a chat.
    Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 Apr. 2026
  • In 2001, the couple, who did not have children, retired to Miami in search of warmer beaches.
    Carol Marbin Miller, Miami Herald, 2 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • His grandfather had been an ardent Zionist who, in 1975, sold his house, on Long Island, and moved to Beersheba, a city in southern Israel.
    Eyal Press, New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2026
  • Some of the silence is designed to amplify the missing, the previously ignored, the co-opted, the terrorized, the gaslighted, and excluded voices of the country’s most ardent supporters of a multiracial democracy.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 Mar. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Passionate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/passionate. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.

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