Standard Lemma guide

dispassionate

adj · verb · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /dɪsˈpæʃənət/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • UK: /dɪsˈpæʃəneɪt/
  • CMU ARPABET: D IH0 S P AE1 SH AH0 N AH0 T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Not showing, and not affected by, emotion, bias, or prejudice.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: nonpassionate, unpassionate, alexithymic, apathistical, clinical, dull, phlegmatic, cold-blooded, cold-hearted, dead inside, dispassionate, emotionless, immovable, impassible, impassive, insensible, nonemotional, nonfeeling, nonsentimental, stolid, unemotional, unfeeling, unmovable, unsentimental, candid, cold, detached, egal, equal, equitable, evenhanded, fairhanded, fair-minded, disinterested, impartial, imprejudicate, indifferent, indistinguishing, neuter, neutral, nonaligned, nonpartial, nonpartisan, nonpersonal, objective, unbiased, unbigoted, uninterested, unpartial, unpartisan, unprejudiced, unprepossessed

Antonyms: passionate

2

verb

Meaning 2

To free from passion.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete, rare

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: passionate

3

adjective satellite

Meaning 3

unaffected by strong emotion or prejudice

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a journalist should be a dispassionate reporter of fact

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: cold-eyed

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dwóh1 Proto-Indo-European *d(w)is- Proto-Italic *dis- Latin dis- Old French des-bor. ▲ Latin dis-bor. Middle English dis- English dis- English passionate English dispassionate From dis- + passionate.

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dwóh1 Proto-Indo-European *d(w)is- Proto-Italic *dis- Latin dis- Old French des-bor. ▲ Latin dis-bor. Middle English dis- English dis- Proto-Indo-European *peh1- Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *ph1tós Proto-Italic *patosder.? Proto-Indo-European *pet-der.? Latin patior Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *-Hō Proto-Indo-European *-tiHō Proto-Italic *-tiō Latin -tiō Latin passiōbor. Old English passion ▲ Latin passiōbor. Old French passionbor. Middle English passioun English passion English dispassion Proto-Indo-European *-h2 Proto-Indo-European *-éh2 Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *-eh2tos Proto-Italic *-ātos Latin -ātuslbor. English -ate English dispassionate From dispassion + -ate (verb-forming suffix).

Across languages

Translations

20 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: безстрастен (bezstrasten) — not showing, and not affected by, emotion, bias, or prejudice
  • Chinese Mandarin: 冷靜的 /冷静的 (lěngjìng de) — not showing, and not affected by, emotion, bias, or prejudice
  • Chinese Mandarin: 不帶感情的 /不带感情的 (bù dài gǎnqíng de) — not showing, and not affected by, emotion, bias, or prejudice
  • Finnish: kiihkoton — not showing, and not affected by, emotion, bias, or prejudice
  • Finnish: maltillinen — not showing, and not affected by, emotion, bias, or prejudice
  • French: dépassionné — not showing, and not affected by, emotion, bias, or prejudice
  • French: calme — not showing, and not affected by, emotion, bias, or prejudice
  • French: rationnel — not showing, and not affected by, emotion, bias, or prejudice
  • French: impartial — not showing, and not affected by, emotion, bias, or prejudice
  • French: objectif — not showing, and not affected by, emotion, bias, or prejudice
  • German: leidenschaftslos — not showing, and not affected by, emotion, bias, or prejudice
  • Italian: spassionato — not showing, and not affected by, emotion, bias, or prejudice
  • Māori: whakamoroki — not showing, and not affected by, emotion, bias, or prejudice
  • Polish: bezstronny — not showing, and not affected by, emotion, bias, or prejudice
  • Polish: beznamiętny — not showing, and not affected by, emotion, bias, or prejudice
  • Russian: беспристра́стный (bespristrástnyj) — not showing, and not affected by, emotion, bias, or prejudice
  • Swedish: lidelsefri — not showing, and not affected by, emotion, bias, or prejudice
  • Swedish: kallsinnig — not showing, and not affected by, emotion, bias, or prejudice
  • Ukrainian: безсторо́нній (bezstorónnij) — not showing, and not affected by, emotion, bias, or prejudice
  • Ukrainian: безпри́страсний (bezprýstrasnyj) — not showing, and not affected by, emotion, bias, or prejudice