disinterested

dis·in·ter·est·ed  (ds-ntr-std, -nt-rstd)

adj.

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

2.

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

b. Having lost interest.

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dis·inter·est·ed·ly adv.

dis·inter·est·ed·ness n.

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. But despite critical disapproval, disinterested has come to be widely used by many educated writers to mean "uninterested" or "having lost interest," as in Since she discovered skiing, she is disinterested in her schoolwork. Oddly enough, "not interested" is the oldest sense of the word, going back to the 17th century. This sense became outmoded in the 18th century but underwent a revival in the first quarter of the early 20th. Despite its resuscitation, this usage is widely considered an error. In a 1988 survey, 89 percent of the Usage Panel rejected the sentence His unwillingness to give five minutes of his time proves that he is disinterested in finding a solution to the problem. This is not a significantly different proportion from the 93 percent who disapproved of the same usage in 1980.

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disinterested

Adjective

1. free from bias; objective

2. Not standard feeling or showing a lack of interest; uninterested

disinterest n

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

Thesaurus

Adj.

1.

disinterested - unaffected by self-interest impartial - showing lack of favoritism; "the cold neutrality of an impartial judge"

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disinterested

adjective 1. impartial, objective, neutral, detached, equitable, impersonal, unbiased, even-handed, unselfish, uninvolved, unprejudiced, free from self-interest << OPPOSITE biased

adjective 2. indifferent, apathetic, uninterested

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.

Translations

disinterested [dɪsˈɪntrəstɪd] adj → desinteresado

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disinterested [dɪsˈɪntrəstɪd] adj → désintéressé(e)

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disinterested [dɪsˈɪntrəstɪd] adj (advice) → unparteiisch, unvoreingenommen;

(help) → uneigennützig

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disinterested [dɪsˈɪntrəstɪd] adj → disinteressato/a