Dispassionate
/dɪsˈpæʃənət/
adjectiveC1
Definition
Dispassionate means being calm and not influenced by strong emotions like anger, excitement, or sadness. A dispassionate person looks at facts and makes decisions without letting feelings get in the way. It often describes someone fair and objective (fair means treating everyone equally).
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⚡ See It in Action
Showing no strong emotions or feelings
- •The lawyer gave a dispassionate argument, focusing only on the facts.
- •She remained dispassionate even when the news was very surprising.
- •His dispassionate tone helped calm the angry crowd.
Being fair and objective, not influenced by personal feelings
- •A dispassionate judge must decide cases based on law, not emotion.
- •To solve the problem, we need a dispassionate view of the facts.
- •Scientists try to be dispassionate when analyzing data.
🧲 Make It Stick
- ✓Think of 'dispassionate' like 'calm' or 'neutral,' but more about not having strong feelings inside
- ✓Picture a judge in a courtroom who listens carefully without getting angry or happy about the case
- ✓It's the feeling you have when you stay cool during a difficult conversation and don’t get upset
- ✓Sounds like 'dis-PASH-uh-nit' → imagine someone pushing away (dis-) their passion (strong feelings) to stay calm and clear
- ✓Think of a scientist who studies facts without letting personal feelings change their work
- ✓NOT like 'passionate' (full of strong feelings and excitement)—dispassionate is the opposite, quiet and controlled
- ✓NOT like 'indifferent' (not caring at all)—dispassionate means you care but stay calm and fair, not cold or careless
🔄 Try Other Words
- •Objective: not influenced by personal feelings (Use when focusing on fairness and facts)
- •Unemotional: showing no emotion (Use when describing someone who does not show feelings)
- •Neutral: not taking sides (Use when someone does not support one side or another)
🔍 Unboxing
- •Word parts: prefix 'dis-' (not, opposite) + root 'passionate' (full of strong feelings)
- •Etymology: From Latin 'dis-' meaning not, and 'passio' meaning suffering or feeling; together meaning without strong feeling
- •Historical development: Originally used to describe absence of strong feelings or suffering, now means calm and fair
- •Modern usage: Used to describe people or attitudes that are fair, calm, and not influenced by emotions, especially in decision-making or discussion
💭 Reflect & Connect
•How can being dispassionate help or hurt a person in everyday life or work?
•Can someone be dispassionate and still care deeply about a situation? How?
Fill in the blanks with the correct word:
1.A dispassionate person will ___ their feelings to make a clear decision.
2.Judges must be dispassionate so they can judge ___ without emotion.
3.When emotions run high, staying dispassionate helps people ___ the problem calmly.
4.Unlike passionate speakers, a dispassionate speaker avoids ___ language.
5.Scientists try to be dispassionate ___ studying their experiments.
6.If someone is too emotional, they may find it hard to stay dispassionate and ___.
7.A dispassionate view means looking at facts ___ personal opinions.