passion

[pash-uhn]

noun

1. any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling, as love or hate.

   Antonyms: apathy

2. strong amorous feeling or desire; love; affection.

3. strong sexual desire; lust.

4. an instance or experience of strong love or sexual desire.

5. a person toward whom one feels strong love or sexual desire.

6. a strong or extravagant fondness, enthusiasm, or desire for anything.

   a passion for music.

   Synonyms: ardor, zeal, fervor

7. the object of such a fondness or desire.

   Accuracy became a passion with him.

8. an outburst of strong emotion or feeling.

   He suddenly broke into a passion of bitter words.

9. violent anger.

   Synonyms: rage, wrath, fury, ire

10. the state of being acted upon or affected by something external, especially something alien to one's nature or one's customary behavior (action ).

11. (often initial capital letter)

    1. the sufferings of Christ on the cross or His sufferings subsequent to the Last Supper.

    2. the narrative of Christ's sufferings as recorded in the Gospels.

12. Archaic.,  the sufferings of a martyr.

passion

¹

/ ˈpæʃən /

noun

1. ardent love or affection

2. intense sexual love

3. a strong affection or enthusiasm for an object, concept, etc

   a passion for poetry

4. any strongly felt emotion, such as love, hate, envy, etc

5. a state or outburst of extreme anger

   he flew into a passion

6. the object of an intense desire, ardent affection, or enthusiasm

7. an outburst expressing intense emotion

   he burst into a passion of sobs

8. philosophy

   1. any state of the mind in which it is affected by something external, such as perception, desire, etc, as contrasted with action

   2. feelings, desires or emotions, as contrasted with reason

9. the sufferings and death of a Christian martyr

Passion

²

/ ˈpæʃən /

noun

1. the sufferings of Christ from the Last Supper to his death on the cross

2. any of the four Gospel accounts of this

3. a musical setting of this

   the St Matthew Passion

Other Word Forms

• passionful adjective
• passionfully adverb
• passionfulness noun
• passionlike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of passion¹

First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English, from Old French, from Medieval Latin passiōn-, stem of passiō “Christ's sufferings on the cross,” any of the Biblical accounts of these, special use of Late Latin passiō “suffering, submission,” equivalent to Latin pass(us), past participle of patī “to suffer, submit” + -iō -ion; patient ( def. )

Word History and Origins

Origin of passion¹

C12: via French from Church Latin passiō suffering, from Latin patī to suffer

Example Sentences

He had been a promising cyclist until the start of World War II, but resumed his passion after the war.

Read more on Barron's

“It’s just very competitive. If you don’t have an immediate passion, and you don’t think about this from an early age, you can kind of fall behind.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Even five World Cups in, she cannot hold back the tears at the national anthem, and looks like she will combust with passion at each wicket she claims.

Read more on BBC

"I'm not getting rich by it, from it, by any means. But I'm certainly paying for myself to maintain my hobby and my passion and pay for the equipment," he said.

Read more on Barron's

"I know where we are in the league and what that looks like from the outside," said the 33-year-old, whose coaching career was partly inspired by his passion for the video game Football Manager.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• affection 
• anger 
• ardor 
• dedication 
• devotion 
• excitement 
• feeling 
• fervor 
• fury 
• intensity 
• joy 
• rage 
• resentment 
• sentiment 
• spirit 
• temper 
• warmth 
• zeal 

When To Use

What are other ways to say passion?

Passion refers to any powerful emotion or feeling, such as love or hate. When should you use this noun over feeling, emotion, or sentiment? Find out on Thesaurus.com.