disinterested

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disinterested

unbiased by personal interest; not influenced by selfish motives; impartial; neutral

Not to be confused with:

uninterested – not interested, uncaring, apathetic, indifferent

dis·in·ter·est·ed

(dĭs-ĭn′trĭ-stĭd, -ĭn′tə-rĕs′tĭd)

adj.

1. Free of bias and self-interest; impartial: "disinterested scientific opinion on fluorides in the water supply" (Ellen R. Shell).

a. Not interested; indifferent: "supremely disinterested in all efforts to find a peaceful solution" (C.L. Sulzberger).

b. Having lost interest.

dis·in′ter·est·ed·ly adv.

Usage Note: In traditional usage, disinterested can only mean "having no stake in an outcome," as in Since the judge stands to profit from the sale of the company, she cannot be considered a disinterested party in the dispute. This usage was acceptable to 98 percent of the Usage Panel in our 2013 survey. But despite critical disapproval, disinterested has come to be widely used to mean "uninterested" or "having lost interest," as in Since she discovered skiing, she's become disinterested in ice skating. The "not interested" meaning is actually the oldest sense of the word, going back to the 1600s. Despite its pedigree, this usage began to be considered an error in the 1900s. In five surveys spanning almost fifty years, the Usage Panel has consistently disapproved of sentences that use disinterested to mean "uninterested." In our 2013 survey, for example, 86 percent of the Usage Panel found the sentence It is difficult to imagine an approach better designed to prevent disinterested students from developing any intellectual maturity to be unacceptable. This figure is essentially unchanged from the 88 percent of the Panel that disapproved of the same sentence in 2001.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

disinterested

(dɪsˈɪntrɪstɪd; -tərɪs-)

adj

1. free from bias or partiality; objective

2. not interested

disˈinterestedly adv

disˈinterestedness n

Usage: Many people consider that the use of disinterested to mean not interested is incorrect and that uninterested should be used

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

dis•in•ter•est•ed

(dɪsˈɪn təˌrɛs tɪd, -trɪ stɪd)

adj.

1. unbiased by personal interest or advantage; not influenced by selfish motives.

2. not interested; indifferent.

[1605–15]

dis•in′ter•est`ed•ly, adv.

dis•in′ter•est`ed•ness, n.

syn: See fair¹.

usage: disinterested was orig. used to mean “not interested, indifferent”; uninterested in its earliest use meant “impartial.” By various developmental twists, disinterested is now used in both senses; uninterested, mainly in the sense “not interested, indifferent.” Many object to the use of disinterested to mean “not interested” and continue to reserve the word strictly for the sense “impartial”: A disinterested observer is the best judge of behavior.

disinterested

– uninterested

1. 'disinterested'

You use disinterested to describe someone who is not involved in a situation and can therefore make fair decisions or judgements about it.

I'm a disinterested observer.

Some people also use disinterested to say that someone is not interested in something or someone.

Her mother had always been disinterested in her.

2. 'uninterested'

However, this use is often regarded as incorrect. Instead of 'disinterested', it is better to say uninterested.

Lionel was uninterested in the house.

Etta appeared totally uninterested.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Adj.

disinterested - unaffected by self-interest

impartial - showing lack of favoritism; "the cold neutrality of an impartial judge"

disinterested

adjective

1. impartial, objective, neutral, detached, equitable, impersonal, unbiased, even-handed, unselfish, uninvolved, unprejudiced, free from self-interest Scientists are expected to be impartial and disinterested.
impartial involved, prejudiced, biased, partial, selfish

2. indifferent, apathetic, uninterested We had become jaded, disinterested and disillusioned.

Usage: Disinterested is now so commonly used to mean `not interested' that to avoid ambiguity it is often advisable to replace it by a synonym when the meaning intended is `impartial, unbiased'. In the Bank of English about 10% of the examples of the word occur followed by in, and overall about a third of examples are of this usage.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

disinterested

adjective

1. Free from bias in judgment:

dispassionate, equitable, fair, fair-minded, impartial, indifferent, just, nonpartisan, objective, square, unbiased, unprejudiced.

Idiom: fair and square.

2. Feeling or showing no strong emotional involvement:

detached, dispassionate, impersonal, indifferent, neutral.

3. Lacking interest in one's surroundings or worldly affairs:

aloof, detached, incurious, indifferent, unconcerned, uninterested, uninvolved.

Translations

غَيْر مُتَحَيِّز، نَزيه

nestrannýnezaujatý

uvildig

hlutlaus

nešališkasnesuinteresuotas

neieinteresēts

belangeloos

nøytral uegennyttig uselvisk

nepristranski

bîtaraftarafsız

无偏见的

disinterested

[dɪsˈɪntrɪstɪd] ADJ

1. (= impartial) → desinteresado, imparcial

2. (= uninterested) → indiferente

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

disinterested

[dɪsˈɪntrəstɪd dɪsˈɪntrɪstɪd] adj (= impartial) [person] → désintéressé(e); [observer] → impartial(e); [advice] → désintéressé(e)

disinterested

adj

(= impartial) → unvoreingenommen, unparteiisch

(= uninterested) → desinteressiert

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

disinterested

[dɪsˈɪntrɪstɪd] adj (impartial) → disinteressato/a; (strictly incorrect, uninterested) → non interessato/a, indifferente

disinterested

(disˈintristid) adjective

not influenced by private feelings or selfish motives; impartial. It would be best if we let a disinterested party decide.

References in classic literature ?

It was written that there, in the nursery of our navigating ancestors, I should learn to walk in the ways of my craft and grow in the love of the sea, blind as young love often is, but absorbing and disinterested as all true love must be.

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what was their Reward for such disinterested Behaviour!

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The case of Gridley is in no essential altered from one of actual occurrence, made public by a disinterested person who was professionally acquainted with the whole of the monstrous wrong from beginning to end.

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These works, which I owe to the high talents and disinterested zeal of the above distinguished authors, could not have been undertaken, had it not been for the liberality of the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, who, through the representation of the Right Honourable the Chancellor of the Exchequer, have been pleased to grant a sum of one thousand pounds towards defraying part of the expenses of publication.

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What it says, when you've peeled off a few of the long words which they put in to make it more interesting, is that old Nutcombe leaves you the money because you are the only man who ever did him a disinterested kindness--and what I want to get out of you is, what was the disinterested kindness?

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I bear witness, in the most disinterested manner, to the excellence of the stratagem by which this unparalleled woman surprised the private interview between Percival and myself-- also to the marvellous accuracy of her report of the whole conversation from its beginning to its end.

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Likewise he is a good, disinterested soul, and one that is not over-talkative, though a true bear in appearance and demeanour.

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Crito, who is a disinterested person not having the fear of death before his eyes, shall answer this for him.

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To reinstate this much-injured prince in the assumed dignities of his ancestors, the disinterested strangers have come all the way from France: they are determined that his title shall be acknowledged.

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Will had given a disinterested attention to an intended settlement on a new plan in the Far West, and the need for funds in order to carry out a good design had set him on debating with himself whether it would not be a laudable use to make of his claim on Bulstrode, to urge the application of that money which had been offered to himself as a means of carrying out a scheme likely to be largely beneficial.

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Women, to their glory be it spoken, are more generally capable of that violent and apparently disinterested passion of love, which seeks only the good of its object, than men.

View in context

With her, it seemed to be the result of pure, disinterested, and confiding friendship.