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• passion
  passion

  noun

  any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling, as love or hate.
• Passion
  Passion

  noun

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

passion

American  

[pash-uhn] / ˈpæʃ ən /

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 (contrasted with 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.

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passion ¹ British  

/ 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

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Passion ² British  

/ 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

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Usage

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.

Other Word Forms

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

Etymology

Origin of passion

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; cf. patient ( def. )

Explanation

Passion is a strong emotion, usually related to love or anger. If on your first time out together your date falls on their knees and tells you they'd die for you — they're gripped by passion (or maybe just nuts). We associate passion with any intense feeling, but centuries ago it referred specifically to intense pain. The sufferings of religions martyrs, who were tortured and killed for their beliefs, were called "passions," from the Latin passio, or suffering. Today we've dropped the torture, and most of us, when we're not in the grip of passion, have a passion (or intense interest) — for things like gardening or golf or dollhouse architecture.

Example Sentences

The 51-year-old added that it was director Jon Favreau's passion for both Star Wars and cinema itself that struck him most when watching the completed film.

From BBC • May 7, 2026

He knows O’Neill personally and shares his passion for combating age-related diseases.

From Salon • May 7, 2026

If the passion wanes, apathy can set in.

From Los Angeles Times • May 7, 2026

Attenborough's programmes succeeded in instilling in the public an unparallelled passion and wonder for the natural world, said Gouyon.

From Barron's • May 6, 2026

Even at her old age, Dr. Molovo was still consumed by a passion for robots.

From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown

Related Words

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