uninterested
adjective
Disinterested vs. Uninterested: Usage Guide
Disinterested and uninterested have a tangled history. Uninterested originally meant impartial, but this sense fell into disuse during the 18th century. About the same time the original sense of disinterested also disappeared, with uninterested developing a new sense—the present meaning—to take its place. The original sense of uninterested is still out of use, but the original sense of disinterested revived in the early 20th century. The revival has since been under frequent attack as an illiteracy and a blurring or loss of a useful distinction. Actual usage shows otherwise. The "free from selfish interest" sense of disinterested is still its most frequent sense, especially in edited prose; it shows no sign of vanishing. Further, disinterested has developed an additional sense—"no longer interested"—perhaps influenced by the "deprive of" sense of the prefix dis-, that contrasts with uninterested.
Jack London, letter, 1914
Still, use of the "not interested" and "no longer interested" senses of disinterested will incur the disapproval of some who may not fully appreciate the history of this word or the subtleties of its present use.
Synonyms
Examples of uninterested in a Sentence
Rebecca Cope, Vogue, 19 Apr. 2024
And with the thriving black market, pharmaceutical companies have seemed uninterested in sponsoring cannabis clinical trials.
—Jane C. Hu, The Atlantic, 8 Apr. 2024
The Ukrainian presidency enjoys widespread support and trust, and the country’s people are uninterested in trading land for peace.
—Branislav L. Slantchev, Foreign Affairs, 1 Apr. 2024
Bridesmaids seems like an obvious choice for a sequel, but Wiig is decidedly uninterested in it.
—Rebecca Keegan, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Mar. 2024
Between the Grammys, the next leg of her Eras Tour, and her boyfriend Travis Kelce playing in the Super Bowl next weekend, she is booked, busy, and uninterested in becoming a trending topic for anything other than winning all the things.
—Sam Reed, Glamour, 5 Feb. 2024
He was served entrees that are stale and tasteless, while the owner is aloof and the kitchen staff is uninterested.
—Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 17 Mar. 2024
The experience changed Cecilia, although Andrew Lobel’s screenplay seems uninterested in the details of that profound transformation.
—Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Mar. 2024
The United States is an uninterested, ineffective hegemon, and its great-power rivals even more so.
—Gregg Carlstrom, Foreign Affairs, 6 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'uninterested.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near uninterested
Cite this Entry
“Uninterested.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/uninterested. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
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