impersonality
Americannoun
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impersonalities
plural
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absence of human character or of the traits associated with the human character.
He feared the impersonality of a mechanized world.
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absence or reduction of concern for individual needs or desires.
the impersonality of a very large institution.
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lack of emotional involvement.
His work reflected a certain impersonality.
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lack of a personal agent or of a known personal agent.
the impersonality of folk art.
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the quality of not being concerned with particular persons.
the impersonality and universality of his interests.
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something that is impersonal.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of impersonality
First recorded in 1760–70; impersonal + -ity
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.
See Examples For:
The intense color and ascetic impersonality of Herrera’s design, Carter’s lighting and the mysterious, splintering lines and tectonic shifts of Thorvaldsdottir’s music play equal roles with the dance in “Untitled.”
From New York Times ● Jun. 11, 2023
This impersonality seems to be the key to what’s missing.
From Slate ● Mar. 16, 2020
Peck’s ballets do feel classical, in the sense that they have a certain formality and impersonality about them; they’re not gushy or overly emotive.
From The New Yorker ● Jan. 29, 2019
Their stories, filtered through Cusk’s coolly detached, narcotically gorgeous writing, attain a kind of exalted impersonality.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 31, 2018
The impersonality of the written word made it the easiest means of exchange.
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
Mr. Ochs and Mr. Reid are great conservative impersonalities.
From Time Magazine Archive
These impersonalities were as near "spatting" as Mr. and Mrs. Hodges ever got.
From The Uncalled A Novel by Paul Laurence Dunbar
Every householder has suffered such moments, and knows by experience the painful pause which ensues before one of the diners bursts vivaciously into impersonalities, but to-day there was no pause.
From An Unknown Lover by Mrs. George de Horne Vaizey
Often their talks branched off into impersonalities, of interest to all.
From Marjorie Dean College Freshman by Pauline Lester
"We didn't hardly say a word about you," said her mother, and now she saw what a good thing it was that she had staid and talked impersonalities with Mrs. Burton.
From The Coast of Bohemia by William Dean Howells
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.
