Impassive as the marble in the quarry. --De Quincey.
[1913 Webster]
On the impassive ice the lightings play. --Pope. -- {Im*pas"sive*ly}, adv. -- {Im*pas"sive*ness}, n. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
impassive — impassive, stoic, phlegmatic, apathetic, stolid are comparable when they mean slightly if at all responsive to something that might be expected to excite emotion or interest or to produce a sensation. The distinctions to be drawn between these… … New Dictionary of Synonyms
impassive — [im pas′iv] adj. [< IN 2 + PASSIVE] 1. not feeling pain; not liable to suffering; insensible 2. not feeling or showing emotion; placid; calm impassively [im΄pə siv′ə tē] adv. impassivity [im΄pa siv′i tē] n. impassiveness … English World dictionary
impassive — index callous, controlled (restrained), dispassionate, impervious, inexpressive, inscrutable, insusceptible ( … Law dictionary
impassive — (adj.) 1660s, not feeling pain, from assimilated form of in not, opposite of (see IN (Cf. in ) (1)) + PASSIVE (Cf. passive). Meaning void of emotions is from 1690s. Related: Impassively; impassiveness (1640s) … Etymology dictionary
impassive — [adj] aloof, cool apathetic, callous, cold, cold blooded*, collected, composed, dispassionate, dry, emotionless, hardened, heartless, imperturbable, indifferent, indurated, inexcitable, inexpressive, inscrutable, insensible, insusceptible, matter … New thesaurus
impassive — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ not feeling or showing emotion. DERIVATIVES impassively adverb impassiveness noun impassivity noun … English terms dictionary
impassive — [[t]ɪmpæ̱sɪv[/t]] ADJ GRADED If someone is impassive or their face is impassive, they are not showing any emotion. [WRITTEN] He searched Hill s impassive face for some indication that he understood... As the foreman of the jury announced the… … English dictionary
impassive — adjective Date: 1605 1. a. archaic unsusceptible to pain b. unsusceptible to physical feeling ; insensible c. unsusceptible to or destitute of emotion ; apathetic 2. giving no sign of feeling or emotion ; expressionless • … New Collegiate Dictionary
impassive — adj. VERBS ▪ be, sit, stand ▪ become ▪ remain ADVERB ▪ completely, quite … Collocations dictionary
impassive — I (New American Roget s College Thesaurus) adj. stolid, phlegmatic, stoical, calm, undemonstrative. See insensibility. II (Roget s IV) modif. Syn. indifferent, apathetic, stoic, stolid, phlegmatic, callous, sedate, insensitive, emotionless; see… … English dictionary for students
