disinterest

[ dis-in-ter-ist, -trist ]

noun

1. lack of interest; indifference.
2. the absence of bias or self-interest; impartiality.

verb (used with object)

1. to divest of interest or concern.

disinterest

/ dɪsˈɪntrɪst; -tərɪst /

noun

1. freedom from bias or involvement
2. lack of interest; indifference

verb

1. tr to free from concern for personal interests

Word History and Origins

Origin of disinterest¹

First recorded in 1605–15; dis- ¹ + interest

Example Sentences

It’s taken decades to bring The Sandman to screensThe Sandman is a tough story to adapt, given its ambition, the width of its scope, and its general disinterest in tight, focused serialization.

From The Daily Beast

Governments should take more conservative approached to lifting mask requirements to avoid “bouncing back and forth” on regulations, which can instill distrust or disinterest among members of the public, she added.

From Washington Post

Legacy tech companies have learned—painfully—that disinterest in Washington doesn’t mean Washington will ignore an industry it sees growing, thriving and threatening to long-standing systems.

From Time

The primary reason for her disinterest is a threshold Facebook set for whether a particular ad is included in its ad targeting data set, excluding ads with fewer than 100 impressions.

From Digiday

As we fight a global pandemic that continues to ravage our country due to incompetence and disinterest in the suffering of fellow Americans, 2021 does not provide any clear answers or even a road map.

From Ozy

Girma sent a letter to TED, urging it to caption all the videos, but she says the response indicated disinterest.

From The Daily Beast

When Louie hurts his back, he expects the doctor—played with maximum disinterest by a pitch-perfect Charles Grodin—to fix him.

From The Daily Beast

“They just said they would be in touch,” I replied, feigning disinterest.

From The Daily Beast

Gulnara felt compelled to reaffirm her disinterest in political ambitions, via tweet, several weeks ago.

From The Daily Beast

Yes, both were problems of mismanagement, incompetence, neglect, and disinterest.

From The Daily Beast

She thought of Ruth Holland, gave up the worn pretense of disinterest and let herself go in thinking of her.

From Project Gutenberg

Then suddenly realizing that he was showing disinterest the Gischalan drew himself up and smiled.

From Project Gutenberg

He thinks that he is able to maintain an appearance of utter disinterest in us and throw us off our guard.

From Project Gutenberg

In all his dealings with this country, he showed his generosity and disinterest.

From Project Gutenberg

The woman turned her head and glanced, in complete disinterest, at the two furiously-battling creatures.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• inattention
• indifference
• lethargy