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disinterested

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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WOTD – 1 March 2026

Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From disinterest (“to cause to be impartial”, verb) +‎ -ed (suffix forming past tense or past participle forms of verbs), or from dis- (prefix meaning ‘not’) +‎ interested (“having a stake in; showing interest”, adjective).[1][2]

Adjective

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disinterested (comparative more disinterested, superlative most disinterested)

  1. Having no interest or stake in the outcome, and no conflicts of interest; free of bias, impartial. [from 17th c.]
    Synonyms: detached, (obsolete) disinteressed, imprejudicate, unbiased, (obsolete) uninterested; see also Thesaurus:impartial
    Antonyms: biased, interested, nondisinterested, partisan, prejudiced, undisinterested
    • 1659, [Obadiah Walker], “Sect[ion] VIII”, in Some Instructions Concerning the Art of Oratory. […], London: […] J[ohn] G[rismond] for R[ichard] Royston, […], →OCLC, paragraph 4, page 115:
      [W]e ought to try our compoſures this vvay; by vvhich the ſoul, receiving them more remotely, conveyed to the ear by the voice, and from this returned to her, as it vvere, from abroad, and that onely in a tranſient ſound, ſits novv as the moſt diſintereſted Arbiter, and impartial judge of her ovvn vvorks, that ſhe can be.
    • 1708 May 19 (Gregorian calendar), [Daniel Defoe], “Saturday, May 8. 1708 [Julian calendar].”, in A Review of the State of the British Nation, volume V, number 18, [Edinburgh?]: [s.n.], →OCLC, page 71, column 1:
      [E]very one pretended to Right and Liberty, and to publick Good, and made loud Noiſes of their unbiaſs'd Juſtice, diſintereſted Actings, and vaſt Moderation, and yet vvere all fighting and ſnarling for Dominion over one another.
    • 1791, James Boswell, quoting Samuel Johnson, “[1772]”, in James Boswell, editor, The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. […], volume I, London: […] Henry Baldwin, for Charles Dilly, […], →OCLC, page 356:
      Sir, you have a right to that kind of respect, and are arguing for yourself. I am for ſupporting the principle, and am diſintereſted in doing it, as I have no ſuch right.
    • 1843 December 19, Charles Dickens, “Stave Four. The Last of the Spirits.”, in A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas, London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, page 125:
      "I don't mind going if a lunch is provided," observed the gentleman with the excrescence on his nose. "But I must be fed, if I make one." Another laugh. "Well, I am the most disinterested among you, after all," said the first speaker, "for I never wear black gloves, and I never eat lunch. But I'll offer to go, if anybody else will. […]"
    • 1865, David Livingstone, Charles Livingstone, chapter XIII, in Narrative of an Expedition to the Zambesi and Its Tributaries; and of the Discovery of the Lakes Shirwa and Nyassa. 1858–1864, London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, page 275:
      This was a case for disinterested benevolence; no pay was expected, but considerable risk incurred; yet we could not decline it, […]
    • 1919, W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, chapter I, in The Moon and Sixpence, [New York, N.Y.]: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers […], →OCLC, page 9:
      With his disinterested passion for art, he had a real desire to call the attention of the wise to a talent which was in the highest degree original; but he was too good a journalist to be unaware that the "human interest" would enable him more easily to effect his purpose.
    • 2011, Steven Pinker, The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence has Declined, New York, N.Y.: Penguin Books, published 2012, →ISBN, page 220:
      People are better off abjuring violence, if everyone else agrees to do so, and vesting authority in a disinterested third party.
    • 2014 April 12, Michael Inwood, “Martin Heidegger: the philosopher who fell for [Adolf] Hitler [print version: Hitler’s philosopher]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Review section)‎[1], London: Telegraph Media Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 6 January 2026, page R10:
      [P]hilosophers of the time [early 20th century] were primarily concerned with epistemology and the foundations of the sciences; they often spoke as if we were separated from the real world by a screen of "representations" or "sense-data"; they tended to regard our approach to the world as one of disinterested observation.
  2. (often proscribed) Synonym of uninterested (“not interested; not concerned; indifferent”). [from 17th c.]
    Synonyms: (obsolete) disinteressed, incurious, unaroused, unconcerned; see also Thesaurus:apathetic
    Antonyms: curious, fascinated, interested, nondisinterested, undisinterested
    • 1608 (date written), John Donne, “Distinction IV. Sect[ion] I.”, in ΒΙΑΘΑΝΑΤΟΣ [Biathanatos]. A Declaration of that Paradoxe, or Thesis, that Selfe-homicide is Not So Naturally Sinne, that It May Never Be Otherwise. […], London: […] Iohn Dawson, published [1644–1647?], →OCLC, 2nd part, page 99:
      [I]f there be caſes, vvherein the party is diſ-intereſted, and only or primarily the glory of God is reſpected and advanced, it [suicide] may be lavvfull.
    • 1672, Eusebius Nieremberg [i.e., Juan Eusebio Nieremberg], “How the Elements and the Heavens are to Change at the End of Time”, in Vivian Mullineaux, transl., A Treatise of the Difference betwixt the Temporal and Eternal: […], [London]: [s.n.], →OCLC, page 188:
      The Mariners, vvhen in ſome furious Tempeſt they are upon point of ſinking, hovv are they amazed at the rage of the vvatry Element? […] hovv diſintereſted are they of all vvorldly matters, ſince they fling their vvealth and riches into the Sea, for vvhich they have run ſuch hazard?
    • 1936, Djuna Barnes, “La Somnambule”, in Nightwood (New Classics), New York, N.Y.: New Directions Books, published [1946], →OCLC, page 61:
      Robin took to wandering again, to intermittent travel from which she came back hours, days later, disinterested.
    • 1967 March 5, Tommy Frazer, “Monroe doctor teaches karate with feet action”, in Vicksburg Sunday Post, volume LXXXIV, number 64, Vicksburg, Miss.: Vicksburg Printing & Publishing Co., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 18, column 3:
      [Thomas H.] Fields [Jr.] and his club guard against bullies getting in to learn the lethal art, and he says he can spot them. Those spotted are usually taught so slowly that they grow disinterested and quit.
Usage notes
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  • The correctness of the use of this word with the sense “uninterested” is disputed. Some reference works consider it acceptable,[3] while others do not.[4] According to the Macmillan Dictionary “[m]any people think that this use of the word is not correct”.[5] On the other hand, while the Oxford English Dictionary specifies that this sense is “[o]ften regarded as a loose use”,[1] evidence shows that it dates to the 17th century. Moreover, the former Lexico website which used Oxford University Press dictionary content noted that “around a quarter of citations in the Oxford English Corpus for disinterested are for this sense”.[2]
Derived terms
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Translations
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Etymology 2

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From disinterest +‎ -ed.

Verb

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disinterested

  1. simple past and past participle of disinterest

References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 “disinterested, adj.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, September 2025.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 “disinterested, adj.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
  3. ^ See, for example, H[enry] W[atson] Fowler, Ernest Gowers (1965), “disinterested”, in A Dictionary of Modern English Usage, 2nd edition, New York, N.Y.; Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, →OCLC, page 134, column 1: “disinterested means free from personal bias. Its use in the sense of uninterested […] was called by the OED ‘qy. obs.’ [query obsolete]; but this comment was withdrawn in the 1933 Supp. and modern examples were given. This revival has since gathered strength; […]”
  4. ^ See, for example, An ABC of English Usage, H.A. Treble and G.H Vallins (1968); Oxford at the Clarendon Press; London.
  5. ^ “disinterested” (US) / “disinterested” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.
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