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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

"If somebody thinks instead of keeping it for his passion, he is reselling it, this is happening in the luxury market all the time. "

From BBC • May 19, 2026

His passion for Los Angeles, classic films, and Cinespia’s devoted audience was palpable.

From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026

Bettan delivers his song, a lovestruck ballad called Michelle, with sincerity and passion, nimbly moving into his falsetto over a mix of electronic beats and Middle Eastern instrumentation.

From BBC • May 15, 2026

“I felt it to be very important that I was in an environment where other students had the same passion as I did for the arts, in particular, theater,” Anderson says.

From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2026

“Now it is a legal marriage. I have never seen a case where there is so much passion and devotion.”

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Related Words

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