Standard Lemma guide

impassive

adj · 4 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.

  • General-American, Received-Pronunciation: /ɪmˈpæsɪv/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -æsɪv
  • CMU ARPABET: IH2 M P AE1 S IH0 V Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Having, or revealing, no emotion.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: apathetic, phlegmatic, unemotional, alexithymic, apathistical, clinical, dull, cold-blooded, cold-hearted, dead inside, dispassionate, emotionless, immovable, impassible, impassive, insensible, nonemotional, nonfeeling, nonpassionate, nonsentimental, stolid, unfeeling, unmovable, unpassionate, unsentimental, adiaphroistic, blasé, blithe, deaf, cool, shiftless, enervated, gallionic, halfhearted, heartless, ineffervescible, insouciant, indifferent, jaded, languid, languorous, Laodicean, lethargic, listless, lackadaisical, lotophagous, lukewarm, meh, mopey, nonchalant, nonplussed, otiose, pococurante, spiritless, supine, tepid, torpid, torpedinous, unaroused, uncaring, unconcerned, unenthusiastic, unimpressible, uninterested, unlively, unmoved, untouched, unzealous, world-weary

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Still or motionless.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: inanimate, inert, at rest, dull, impassive, lifeless, motionless, sedent, sedentary, stationary, still, stock-still, torpid, unmoved, unmoving

Antonyms: none provided

3

adjective satellite

Meaning 3

deliberately impassive in manner

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • deadpan humor
  • his face remained expressionless as the verdict was read

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: deadpan, expressionless, poker-faced, unexpressive

Antonyms: none provided

4

adjective satellite

Meaning 4

having or revealing little emotion or sensibility; not easily aroused or excited- Nordhoff & Hall-Virginia Woolf

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • her impassive remoteness
  • he remained impassive, showing neither interest in nor concern for our plight
  • a silent stolid creature who took it all as a matter of course
  • her face showed nothing but stolid indifference

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: stolid

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From im- (prefix meaning ‘not’) + passive (“which is, or is capable of being, acted on; (obsolete) which suffers, or may suffer, pain, death, etc.”, adjective).

Across languages

Translations

40 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: безстрастен (bezstrasten) — having, or revealing, no emotion
  • Catalan: impertèrrit — having, or revealing, no emotion
  • Catalan: impàvid — having, or revealing, no emotion
  • Catalan: imperturbable — having, or revealing, no emotion
  • Catalan: impassible — having, or revealing, no emotion
  • Czech: chladný — having, or revealing, no emotion
  • Czech: netečný — having, or revealing, no emotion
  • Czech: lhostejný — having, or revealing, no emotion
  • Czech: flegmatický — having, or revealing, no emotion
  • Dutch: onbewogen — having, or revealing, no emotion
  • Dutch: gevoelloos — having, or revealing, no emotion
  • Dutch: ongeëmotioneerd — having, or revealing, no emotion
  • Dutch: onverstoorbaar — having, or revealing, no emotion
  • Finnish: tunteeton — having, or revealing, no emotion
  • Finnish: välinpitämätön — having, or revealing, no emotion
  • French: impassible — having, or revealing, no emotion
  • German: gefühllos — having, or revealing, no emotion
  • German: gleichmütig — having, or revealing, no emotion
  • German: teilnahmslos — having, or revealing, no emotion
  • German: leidenschaftslos — having, or revealing, no emotion
  • Greek: απαθής (apathís) — having, or revealing, no emotion
  • Ancient Greek: ἀπαθής (apathḗs) — having, or revealing, no emotion
  • Hungarian: közömbös — having, or revealing, no emotion
  • Hungarian: egykedvű — having, or revealing, no emotion
  • Hungarian: érzéketlen — having, or revealing, no emotion
  • Irish: fuarchúiseach — having, or revealing, no emotion
  • Italian: impassibile — having, or revealing, no emotion
  • Japanese: 無感動な (mukandōna) — having, or revealing, no emotion
  • Marathi: भावनाशून्य (bhāvnāśūnya) — having, or revealing, no emotion
  • Portuguese: impassível — having, or revealing, no emotion
  • Portuguese: imperturbável — having, or revealing, no emotion
  • Spanish: impasible — having, or revealing, no emotion
  • Spanish: impertérrito — having, or revealing, no emotion
  • Turkish: duyarsız — having, or revealing, no emotion
  • Czech: klidný — still or motionless
  • Finnish: liikkumaton — still or motionless
  • German: unbewegt — still or motionless
  • Hungarian: mozdulatlan — still or motionless
  • Japanese: 平然とした (hēzentoshita) — still or motionless
  • Māori: whakaririka — still or motionless