5 November 2017
disinterested
[dis-in-tuh-res-tid, -tri-stid]
adjective
1. unbiased by personal interest or advantage; not influenced by selfish motives:
a disinterested decision by the referee.
2. not interested; indifferent.
Origin of disinterested
1605-1615 First recorded in 1605-15; dis-1+ interested
Related forms
disinterestedly, adverb
disinterestedness, noun
nondisinterested, adjective
Can be confused
disinterested, uninterested (see usage note at the current entry)
Synonyms
1. impartial, neutral, unprejudiced, dispassionate. See fair1.
Antonyms
1. partial, biased.
Usage note
Disinterested and uninterested share a confused and confusing history. Disinterested was originally 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 is used mainly in the sense “not interested, indifferent.” It is occasionally used to mean “not having a personal or property interest.”
Many object to the use of disinterested to mean “not interested, indifferent.” They insist that disinterested can mean only “impartial”: A disinterested observer is the best judge of behavior.However, both senses are well established in all varieties of English, and the sense intended is almost always clear from the context.
Examples from the Web for disinterested
Contemporary Examples
If our school system fails to teach how our country works, should we be surprised so many are disinterested ?
Baseball’s Problem Is Politics’ Problem
Doug McIntyre
November 3, 2014
Edge, one of the most inventive guitarists in rock history, comes off as disinterested.
U2 Generously Gives Us a Lousy Album, Sucks at the Corporate Teat
Hampton Stevens
September 12, 2014
Add to that a disinterested public that fails to turn out on Election Day, and citizens are getting the government they deserve.
Powerbroker Richard Ravitch Thinks New York Might Be Doomed
Josh Robin
April 25, 2014
Neither he nor the Sanford Police Department were disinterested observers.
George Zimmerman Video Outrage: Where Are Injuries From Travyon Fight?
Jesse Singal
March 28, 2012
Historical Examples
In all this he has been upright, disinterested and conscientious in word and deed.
The Grand Old Man
Richard B. Cook
She knew, only too well, that Althea’s invitation to dinner had not been disinterested.
Grace Harlowe’s Return to Overton Campus
Jessie Graham Flower
Anagram
sit tenderised
dissented tier
dissident tree
Today’s quote
Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.
– Rabindranath Tagore
On this day
5 November 1605 – Guy Fawkes Day. Celebrates King James I survived an attempt on his life when Guy Fawkes and others from the Gunpowder Plot placed gunpowder around the House of Lords in a failed attempt to blow up parliament.
5 November 1996 – Bill Clinton secures a second term as U.S. President, with a land-slide victory. Clinton is the first Democrat in 50 years to win consecutive terms of government.