impersonal

[im-pur-suh-nl]

adjective

1. not personal; without reference or connection to a particular person.

   an impersonal remark.

2. having no personality; devoid of human character or traits.

   an impersonal deity.

3. lacking human emotion or warmth.

   an impersonal manner.

4. Grammar.

   1. (of a verb) having only third person singular forms and rarely if ever accompanied by an expressed subject, as Latin pluit “it is raining,” or regularly accompanied by an empty subject word, as English to rain in It is raining.

   2. (of a pronoun or pronominal reference) indefinite, as French on “one.”

noun

1. Grammar.,  an impersonal verb or pronoun.

impersonal

/ ɪmˈpɜːsənəl /

adjective

1. without reference to any individual person; objective

   an impersonal assessment

2. devoid of human warmth or sympathy; cold

   an impersonal manner

3. not having human characteristics

   an impersonal God

4. grammar (of a verb) having no logical subject. Usually in English the pronoun it is used in such cases as a grammatical subject, as for example in It is raining

5. grammar (of a pronoun) not denoting a person

Other Word Forms

• impersonality noun
• impersonally adverb
• superimpersonal adjective
• superimpersonally adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of impersonal¹

From the Late Latin word impersōnālis, dating back to 1510–20. See im- ², personal

Example Sentences

It’s totally impersonal a lot of the time.

From Los Angeles Times

However, many are still protected via regulatory loopholes, such as exemptions for those providing only impersonal advice not tailored to any particular client or issuing such advice for free.

From Los Angeles Times

It scans your body to deliver a precise, if impersonal, spa service.

From Los Angeles Times

Sophie is concerned that interactions between boys and girls are distant and impersonal in Ben's peer group.

From BBC

History is driven not only by vast impersonal forces like geography and economics but also by contingency, that is, the individual actions of men and women.

From Salon

Related Words

• abstract 
• detached 
• indifferent 
• remote