impassioned
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of impassioned
Explanation
If something is impassioned it's filled with or demonstrating intense emotion. Anything can be impassioned — speech, a play, a conversation, a novel, or even you. Impassioned comes from the Latin word passionem, meaning "suffering or enduring," and originally referred to the suffering of Christ on the cross, known as "The Passion." In other words, impassioned had a sense of trauma and anguish associated with it and only later did it come to describe happier feelings as well. Whatever the emotional feeling behind impassioned, it's still a word that suggests profound feeling and sincerity on behalf of the user.
Vocabulary lists containing impassioned
All Worked Up: Synonyms for "Emotional"
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Just Mercy
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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
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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.
It was favourite spot for poet John Betjeman, who once gave an impassioned speech in defence of the restaurant when it was under threat of redevelopment.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
Few films provide as much to think about, to argue about, to be impassioned about.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
“I want to know if Justin Herbert can dance,” the impassioned Bruschi said on ESPN.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026
Back then, they were “a fount of car games, sing-alongs, impassioned debates, and wistful dreaming-out-loud.”
From Slate ● Sep. 9, 2026
After Barack’s victory in Iowa, my message on the campaign trail grew only more impassioned, almost proportional to the size of the crowds that were turning out at rallies.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
