impersonal en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ɪmˈpɜː.sn̩.ɫ̩/ Northern England English, Syllabic post-schwa consonants
- /ɪmˈpɝsənəl/ (General-American)
Etymology
From French impersonnel, from Latin impersōnālis, from im- (“not”) + persōnālis (“personal”), equivalent to im- + personal.
Meanings
-
Not personal; not representing a person; not having personality.
The great tragedians of Greece reveal to us their people's exquisite sense of beauty, and their faith in an awful, an almighty, but an impersonal power, called Fate
1853, James Stephen, On Desultory and Systematic Reading: A Lecture:
-
Lacking warmth or emotion; cold.
And now it appeared that there was a mysterious Queen clothed by rumour with dread and wonderful attributes, and commonly known by the impersonal, but, to my mind, rather awesome title of She.
1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:She sounded impersonal as she gave her report of the Nazi death camps.
-
(of a verb or other word) Not having a subject, or having a third person pronoun without an antecedent.
The verb “rain” is impersonal in sentences like “It’s raining.”
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| most impersonal | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| more impersonal | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |
Deriveds
impersonalist · impersonalness · impersonally · impersonalization · impersonalism · impersonal passive · impersonalise · impersonal verb · impersonalize · ultraimpersonal · impersonal subject · impersonality
Relateds
Synonyms
monopersonal · pleonastic · unipersonal
Translations (56)
be безасабо́вы (grammar) · hu személytelen (grammar) · uk безли́кий (lacking warmth or emotion) · de unpersönlich (lacking warmth or emotion) · gl impersoal (grammar) · io nepersonala (not representing a person) · el απρόσωπος (grammar) · la impersonalis (grammar) · ru безли́чный (grammar) · fi persoonaton (grammar) · pl bezosobowy (grammar) · sv opersonlig (lacking warmth or emotion) · fi persoonaton (lacking warmth or emotion) · kum бетсиз (grammar) · de unpersönlich (not representing a person) · izh liitsatoin (grammar) · sv opersonlig (grammar) · pl bezosobowy (lacking warmth or emotion) · pl bezosobowy (not representing a person) · ru отчуждённый (lacking warmth or emotion) · cmn 無人稱 /无人称 (grammar) · csb bezòsobòwi (not representing a person) · be бязлі́кі (lacking warmth or emotion) · ca impersonal (not representing a person) · et umbisikuline (grammar) · ru обезли́ченный (not representing a person) · es impersonal (not representing a person) · es impersonal (lacking warmth or emotion) · de unpersönlich (grammar) · uk безособо́вий (grammar) · el απρόσωπος (lacking warmth or emotion) · cs neosobní (lacking warmth or emotion) · es impersonal (grammar) · hu személytelen (not representing a person) · hu érzéketlen (lacking warmth or emotion) · ru безли́кий (lacking warmth or emotion) · fi persoonaton (not representing a person) · ru безли́чный (not representing a person) · nl onpersoonlijk (lacking warmth or emotion) · af onpersoonlik (lacking warmth or emotion) · ca impersonal (lacking warmth or emotion) · gl impersoal (lacking warmth or emotion) · cs neosobní (not representing a person) · sv opersonlig (not representing a person) · nl onpersoonlijk (not representing a person) · fr impersonnel (grammar) · pt impessoal (lacking warmth or emotion) · hu közömbös (lacking warmth or emotion) · el απρόσωπος (not representing a person) · ca impersonal (grammar) · br dic'hour (grammar) · hu személytelen (lacking warmth or emotion) · bg безли́чен (grammar) · hu rideg (lacking warmth or emotion) · pl bezduszny (lacking warmth or emotion) · gl impersoal (not representing a person)