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 There was the school mom who knows how passionate my daughter is about Frozen and suggested hiring the same Elsa actor who had been a hit at her own daughter’s party. Miranda Rake, The Atlantic, 23 Sep. 2025 Routh held passionate political views. Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 23 Sep. 2025 The shape of the film, discernable even in a rough cut, is as gracefully natural as its subject is urgent and its discussions are passionate. Richard Brody, New Yorker, 23 Sep. 2025 The pair are passionate about travel and adrenaline-filled sports. Jordana Comiter, PEOPLE, 23 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for passionate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for passionate
Adjective
  • This blaze is intense enough that firefighters used water lines to moisten the soil around trees and wrapped their trunks with fire-resistant foil blankets.
    Kurt Snibbe, Oc Register, 20 Sep. 2025
  • From time to time, there’s still an intense demand for anything connected to the Fab Four, and countless films, books, and albums have been issued in the decades since the musicians split.
    Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Cities are crowded and hot, beaches are packed, and days seamlessly shift into night, leaving hardly any time to freshen up before dinner.
    Lane Nieset, Travel + Leisure, 20 Sep. 2025
  • Some of jazz and R&B's biggest names from the early and mid-20th century played their Louisville gigs at a certain hot nightclub in a bustling business district.
    Leo Bertucci, Louisville Courier Journal, 20 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Often, the end of a close bond is a quiet, gradual process marked by subtle clues and a sense of growing emotional distance.
    Maria Morava, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Sep. 2025
  • An emotional support alligator who has spent the past few years going to church, restaurants, and grocery stores can no longer go to Walmart after a customer complained.
    Saleen Martin, USA Today, 20 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • The opening of the location near the Detroit Metro Airport drew a large and excited crowd.
    Natalie Davies, Freep.com, 23 Sep. 2025
  • Nvidia has made no net progress since July 30 alongside plenty of excited chatter around the strength and duration of the AI buildout — perhaps having entered another of its long digestion trading ranges (the last one went on for several months)?
    Michael Santoli, CNBC, 23 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Taylor Swift premiered her Eras Tour movie at The Grove, where events including an annual Christmas tree lighting draw enthusiastic crowds.
    Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 19 Sep. 2025
  • Although some on the committee seemed enthusiastic about pushing the first dose recommendation for hepatitis B from birth to 1 month of age, after some discussion, there was a revolt against tackling the issue at all.
    Will Stone, NPR, 19 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • There is nothing quite so sluttish, apparently, as a lustful pistil.
    Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline, 5 Sep. 2025
  • He’s got a strong, if not particularly nuanced, voice that served him well over the lustful screams from the audience, which was heavy on young women and families.
    Ross Raihala, Twin Cities, 23 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • The movie was roundly rejected by critics and general audiences aren’t any warmer, with moviegoer survey firm Cinema Score polling a bad C- grade among early viewers.
    J. Kim Murphy, Variety, 20 Sep. 2025
  • The pastel colorway, which also includes a warm blue and a mushroom hue bestows a sort of quiet luxury to your chamber.
    Yelena Moroz Alpert, Architectural Digest, 20 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Jimmy Kimmel’s fellow late-night hosts have, unsurprisingly, been among his most ardent defenders.
    Judy Berman, Time, 19 Sep. 2025
  • When there is a buck to be made, a rapidly emerging necessity can be met with ardent earnestness.
    Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Passionate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/passionate. Accessed 26 Sep. 2025.

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