impersonality
Americannoun
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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.
-
absence or reduction of concern for individual needs or desires.
the impersonality of a very large institution.
-
lack of emotional involvement.
His work reflected a certain impersonality.
-
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.
-
something that is impersonal.
Other Word 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.
He became known, if for anything, for his monotone impersonality.
From New York Times • Nov. 25, 2021
It’s hard not to take things personally, even if the process traffics in a magical impersonality.
From The New Yorker • Oct. 8, 2018
Though he was polite, his response highlighted the crushing impersonality of bureaucracies, telling us the guards were not advised of the activities of “tenant agencies.”
From Slate • Jun. 28, 2018
Their stories, filtered through Cusk’s coolly detached, narcotically gorgeous writing, attain a kind of exalted impersonality.
From Los Angeles Times • May 31, 2018
He had been prepared to sacrifice his wife and his-best friend, to the impersonality of Justice.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
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.
