any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling, as love or hate.
strong sexual desire; lust.
an instance or experience of strong love or sexual desire.
a person toward whom one feels strong love or sexual desire.
a strong or extravagant fondness, enthusiasm, or desire for anything.
a passion for music.
the object of such a fondness or desire.
Accuracy became a passion with him.
an outburst of strong emotion or feeling.
He suddenly broke into a passion of bitter words.
violent anger.
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).
(often initial capital letter)
the sufferings of Christ on the cross or His sufferings subsequent to the Last Supper.
the narrative of Christ's sufferings as recorded in the Gospels.
Archaic. the sufferings of a martyr.
ardent love or affection
intense sexual love
a strong affection or enthusiasm for an object, concept, etc
a passion for poetry
any strongly felt emotion, such as love, hate, envy, etc
a state or outburst of extreme anger
he flew into a passion
the object of an intense desire, ardent affection, or enthusiasm
an outburst expressing intense emotion
he burst into a passion of sobs
philosophy
any state of the mind in which it is affected by something external, such as perception, desire, etc, as contrasted with action
feelings, desires or emotions, as contrasted with reason
the sufferings and death of a Christian martyr
the sufferings of Christ from the Last Supper to his death on the cross
any of the four Gospel accounts of this
a musical setting of this
the St Matthew Passion
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.
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. )
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.
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
For Neill, it was the passion for complex, wily characters, and how those types of people reacted in situations that were equally complicated.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026
But she says that after mental-performance training, she hears, “This has helped me find my passion again.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
"If you want to study engineering, do it because you have a passion for technology. Don't do it for the money or the job security."
From Barron's ● Jul. 12, 2026
“I don’t think you can envision the passion of national team fans,” Demoff said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026
His true passion was the study of populations and growth.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
Passion, humor and a snarl of defiance run through the album like a bullet.
From Salon ● Jun. 5, 2026
The foundation made the film in collaboration with production companies Amazon MGM Studios and Passion Planet.
From Barron's ● Jan. 28, 2026
Harriet Cullen’s delightful biography of her mother, “Lady Pamela Berry: Passion, Politics and Power,” tells of a great fixer, the last political hostess in London.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 12, 2025
“But it will require courage, not cowardice. Passion, not corporate approval.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2025
Lenina suddenly felt all the sensations normally experienced at the beginning of a Violent Passion Surrogate treatment—a sense of dreadful emptiness, a breathless apprehension, a nausea.
From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
Woodman rang the bell on the Nasdaq trading floor, and the company touted its products as a way to enable "people to capture their life's passions in ways they could have never done before."
From Barron's ● Jun. 11, 2026
History isn’t a crystal ball, but certain historical moments become magnifying glasses, highlighting truths today’s political passions obscure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026
As an artificial-intelligence researcher with a specialty in videogames, Togelius is caught in the middle of what he calls “an ongoing culture war” between his passions.
From MarketWatch ● May 23, 2026
We’re told that sharing our thoughts and passions increases our career survival odds.
From Salon ● May 4, 2026
It was me who’d alter everything, putting my passions and career dreams on hold, to fulfill this piece of our dream.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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.
