impersonal
Americanadjective
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not personal; without reference or connection to a particular person.
an impersonal remark.
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having no personality; devoid of human character or traits.
an impersonal deity.
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lacking human emotion or warmth.
an impersonal manner.
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Grammar.
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(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.
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(of a pronoun or pronominal reference) indefinite, as French on “one.”
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noun
adjective
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without reference to any individual person; objective
an impersonal assessment
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devoid of human warmth or sympathy; cold
an impersonal manner
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not having human characteristics
an impersonal God
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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
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grammar (of a pronoun) not denoting a person
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of impersonal
From the Late Latin word impersōnālis, dating back to 1510–20. See im- 2, personal
Explanation
If you're impersonal, you're neutral — you're not showing your feelings or your preference. If you choose people to be on your team by closing your eyes and pointing, that's impersonal — you're not picking your friends or the best players. Impersonal can be good. An impersonal rejection is easier to take than one that specifies precisely why you, in particular, are a reject. But if your class is so impersonal, your teacher doesn't even know your name, that’s not good. A wedding that doesn't include details about the bride and groom would be impersonal and may be more like a business meeting than a celebration. Impersonal comes from the Latin roots in- or im-, "not," and personalis, "of a person."
Vocabulary lists containing impersonal
Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie
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Purple Hibiscus
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im-
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
My favourite was the 2007 album Impersonal by the US comic Paul F Tompkins.
From The Guardian • Apr. 6, 2020
In the age-old debate over the historical roles of Very Important Persons and Vast Impersonal Forces, Platt comes down firmly on the side of the people.
From New York Times • Jul. 2, 2018
Impersonal yet deeply familiar, the vacuum cleaner pieces introduce the essential seduction-repulsion dynamic that is basic to most of Mr. Koons’s art.
From New York Times • Jun. 26, 2014
Impersonal markets may assign wages to particular “low productivity” people that are so meager that they can’t support themselves, let alone their families.
From Newsweek
Impersonal, dispassionate, self-possessed, they reason without temper, and remain forever of the same mind without obstinacy.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 03, No. 20, June, 1859 by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
