Make Your Point > Archived Issues > DISPASSIONATE
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According to Aristotle, the law is "reason free from passion." (Thanks for teaching me that, Legally Blonde. Uh, I mean, The Politics of Aristotle.)
"Free from passion" is what our word dispassionate means: free from bias, free from emotion, free from any desires or interests that would otherwise entice us away from that cold hard middle ground of pure reason.
So if you're a dispassionate judge of something, which two of the following three terms also apply to you?
1. Sang-froid
2. Unflappable
3. Demonstrative
make your point with...
"DISPASSIONATE"
One meaning of "passionate" is "so emotional that you're thinking in an unclear or biased way."
And so, dispassionate people and things are not at all emotional: they're calm, cool, and relaxed, thinking clearly, not being biased, not taking sides, and using good, fair judgment.
Pronunciation:
diss PASH uh nut
Part of speech:
Adjective: "a dispassionate report," "they remained dispassionate."
Other forms:
The adverb is "dispassionately."
The noun, "dispassion" (or "dispassionateness"), means "calm objectivity: clear, fair, unbiased thinking."
How to use it:
Although you might use the word "dispassionate" to mean "detached in an uncaring way: unemotional, apathetic," more often you use it to mean "detached in a wise way: unbiased, analytical." The dispassionate person might care about the fight at hand--he just might not have a dog in it.
With that in mind, talk about dispassionate people, attitudes, moods, tones, views, perspectives, statements, gestures, judgments, conclusions, analyses, reports, surveys, etc.
examples:
"Two of the most respected scholars in the field of democracy offer up a sober, dispassionate look at the current state of affairs – and arrive at some disturbing conclusions."
— Seattle Times, 7 December 2018, in reference to How Democracies Die by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt
"Passion is often trusting your intuition and creativity. Dispassion insists that you listen to customer feedback, and build exactly what they ask for. Passion says you can please a variety of audiences. Dispassion says you only have resources to pick one audience and go deep."
— Steve August, Medium, 15 May 2017
has this page helped you understand "dispassionate"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "dispassionate" without saying "impartial" or "detached."
try it out:
Fill in the blanks: "Setting aside (some strong emotion or desire), (someone) turns a dispassionate eye on (some topic), doing something about it in a calm way."
Example 1: "Setting aside my distress, I turn a dispassionate eye on the glistening rainbow shards of the broken jewelry dish, looking for a piece that could be salvaged into a pendant."
Example 2: "Setting aside her raging perfectionism, she turns a dispassionate eye on her schedule, eliminating tasks and projects that would prove unfeasible."
before you review, play:
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
Our game this month is Distinctive Definitions.
We're taking a scenic slog through poetic and philosophical definitions, wading through similes, metaphors, personifications, hyperboles, grandiloquence, and cheesiness.
In each issue, consider a definition provided by a poet, a writer, or a philosopher, and see if you can name the definiendum: the thing or concept being defined. (Is it life, love, time, death, music, sleep, pain, laughter, bubblegum, stubbing your toe…???) For example, James Russell Lowell (1819-1891) said, "What men call ________ and the Gods call dross." He’s defining something—what is it? "Treasure."
Now, you can play this game in earnest, trying to think of what the poet actually wrote--or you can play it for laughs, supplying the silliest or most sarcastic answer you can muster.
To take the silliness to the next level, gather your friends or family, deal each person a hand of cards from your copy of Apples to Apples (great for kids) or Cards Against Humanity (not for kids!!), and enjoy the ensuing hilarity. (In these games, players take turns being the judge for each round, picking the funniest from everyone’s submissions.) "What men call stretch limos and the Gods call dross." "What men call Morgan Freeman's voice and the Gods call dross."
From the previous issue:
Henri Frédéric Amiel (1821-1881) said, "_____ is the secret of eloquence and of virtue, the basis of moral authority; it is the highest summit of art and of life."
Answer: Truth.
Try this one today:
David Foster Wallace (1962-2008) said, "_____ is billiards with balls that won't hold still. It is chess on the run. It is to artillery and airstrikes what football is to infantry and attrition."
review this word:
1. The exact opposite of DISPASSIONATE is PASSIONATE.
But a close opposite of DISPASSIONATE is
A. BALEFUL (DEADLY).
B. GLACIAL (GRADUAL).
C. TENDENTIOUS (OPINIONATED).
2. I admire the team's dispassion, the way they _____.
A. encourage each other
B. separate myth from fact
C. fight through their fatigue
a final word:
Make Your Point is crafted with love and brought to you each weekday morning by Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From Liesl's blog:
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
According to Aristotle, the law is "reason free from passion." (Thanks for teaching me that, Legally Blonde. Uh, I mean, The Politics of Aristotle.)
"DISPASSIONATE" One meaning of "passionate" is "so emotional that you're thinking in an unclear or biased way."
"Two of the most respected scholars in the field of democracy offer up a sober, dispassionate look at the current state of affairs – and arrive at some disturbing conclusions."
Explain the meaning of "dispassionate" without saying "impartial" or "detached."
Fill in the blanks: "Setting aside (some strong emotion or desire), (someone) turns a dispassionate eye on (some topic), doing something about it in a calm way."
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
1. The exact opposite of DISPASSIONATE is PASSIONATE.
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