impersonal

American  

[im-pur-suh-nl] / ɪmˈpɜr sə 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.”

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noun

1. Grammar. an impersonal verb or pronoun.

impersonal British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

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

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Etymology

Origin of impersonal

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

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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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

impersonal

In a letter to Milleri, published by the Milano Finanza newspaper, del Vecchio condemned a management style that had become "remote" and "impersonal".

From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026

These “ghost jobs” have been a longtime source of frustration and anguish for people slogging through an increasingly anonymous and impersonal job-search process.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

Starbucks became so efficient and impersonal that customers began to wonder why they were paying a premium for something they could make at home, or at least get with more flair elsewhere.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

“While direct-to-consumer platforms have increased patient access to GLP-1 receptor agonists, these findings suggest that some do so through impersonal care that prioritizes quick prescriptions over comprehensive care,” the researchers wrote.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026

Then, to be on the safe side, I wanted somebody I didn't know and wouldn't go on knowing—a kind of impersonal, priestlike official, as in the tales of tribal rites.

From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath

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Related Words

• abstract
• detached
• indifferent
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