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impassivity

impassivity

1 8.8
A lack of emotion or visible reaction
  • noun
  • /ɪmˈpæsɪvɪti/
translation icon : impasibilidad
  • His face showed complete impassivity during the tense meeting, betraying no emotions.

To react like that brings you closer to impassivity and so to strength, meaning to to be gentle with others.

Examples

  • To them, his impassivity seemed like indifference.

    Academic text (2010)
  • I have perfected the art of impassivity.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • I was allowed this freedom on the promise of silence and impassivity.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • He could see their young faces, so familiar, so constant, frozen now in the old impassivity.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • It seemed to me she expected us all to lie and was trying, with her impassivity, not to show her disappointment in our dishonesty.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • The mules watched him with complete impassivity, heads drooping, eyes half-lidded.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • I mistook recklessness for courage, which I later came to realize was more truly expressed in calm impassivity, a state I was never able to attain.

    Academic text (2009)
  • Mr. Blandon could make himself into a post if he wanted, hide beneath an impassivity nothing could crack, and yet he could wink at you, too, though it came more by inflection than it did from his eyes.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • How could it be otherwise during those centuries in which the divine impassivity continued to be a key doctrinal concept, quite apart from such considerations as transcendence and invisibility?

    Academic text (1992)
  • That night at Daniel's party, Annie had secretly memorized everything about Oliver Rain from the color of his eyes, which were an elusive, indescribable shade of gray, to the controlled impassivity of his features.

    Fiction book (1996)

Synonyms

indifference
vsimpassivity
71 4.6

Lack of interest or concern about something

is lack of emotional feeling or response rather than mere lack of concern
apathy
vsimpassivity
43 6.2

A lack of interest or care about things

is specifically absence of emotional feeling and response rather than just low interest
numbness
vsimpassivity
5 4.6

A lack of feeling or interest in things often after long stress

is lack of any emotional feeling or reaction rather than low interest
dispassion
vsimpassivity
  • Formal
1 7.3

A calm state of not feeling strong emotions and judging fairly

is lack of feeling itself, not mainly an impartial stance
impersonality
vsimpassivity
1 7.6

A lack of personal warmth or feeling when people speak and act

is emotional absence focused on feeling rather than social distance
emotionlessness
vsimpassivity
1 8.5

A lack of visible feeling or reaction

is about not feeling emotion and not reacting to events
blandness
vsimpassivity
1 4.4

A calm lack of emotion when people expect a strong reaction

is a general lack of feeling, not tied to situations needing reaction
unresponsiveness
vsimpassivity
1 7.3

Not reacting to people or events, often without emotion

is absence of feeling itself rather than mere slow or delayed reactions
impassiveness
vsimpassivity
7.9

A lack of visible emotion

is identical in meaning but differs only in word form
impassibility
vsimpassivity
9.5

Not showing feeling or reaction to events

is lack of feeling or reaction without stressing calm emotional steadiness
unemotionality
vsimpassivity
8.3

A state of showing little or no feeling

is total absence of feeling rather than minimal emotional display
expressionlessness
vsimpassivity
7.4

No feeling shown on a person's face, voice, or actions

is lack of feeling itself, not only lack of outward signs
inexpressiveness
vsimpassivity
7.8

Not showing feelings or emotion

is about inner lack of feeling, not only poor emotional communication
stolidity
vsimpassivity
9.9

A lack of strong feeling or emotion when something happens

is a lack of emotion across reactions, not only outward calmness
dispassionateness
vsimpassivity
  • Formal
8.5

Not taking sides and not showing strong feelings when judging people or events

is emotional absence without the specific sense of objective neutrality
insensibility
vsimpassivity
7.6

A lack of feeling or care for other people's pain

is absence of emotion generally, not necessarily moral hardness
irresponsiveness
vsimpassivity
6.6

Not replying or reacting when someone tries to contact you

is lack of emotional feeling rather than absence of any response behavior
vacantness
vsimpassivity
6.6

A blank look that shows no clear thought or feeling

is lack of feeling or reaction rather than empty mind or absent awareness

Antonyms

100 3.9

Being able to notice and respond to your own and other people's feelings

2 6.7

The state of having or showing strong feelings

How Emotional

emotionality
2 6.7
warmth
103 1.0
calmness
9 2.7
impassivity
1 8.8
detachment
21 6.1

Surface Forms

impassivity singular
impassivities plural

Morphology

impassivity = impassive (transparent) = im + passive + ity

Standard noun formation from the adjective 'impassive' using the productive suffix '-ity', preserving the adjectival meaning.

Etymology

Impassivity begins with im- meaning 'not' and shares a root with passive and passion, which come from an old idea of 'suffering' or strong feeling. So, impassivity is the quality of not showing emotion or any reaction.