Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

impassive

/ɪmˈpæsɪv/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.32 in modern English

Syllables: im-pass-ive
IPA: /ɪmˈpæsɪv/

16

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

3

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Having, or revealing, no emotion.

adj

Still or motionless.

Example Sentences

"It was a victory that clearly meant so much to Van Gaal as the normally impassive manager raced from his seat in the technical area to celebrate Lingard's winner."

Etymology

From im- (prefix meaning ‘not’) + passive (“which is, or is capable of being, acted on; (obsolete) which suffers, or may suffer, pain, death, etc.”, adjective).

Word Breakdown

Prefix: im-
Root: *peh₁-
Suffix: passive

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ɪmˈpæsɪv/
British English: /ɪmˈpæsɪv/

Inflected Forms

more impassive (comparative) most impassive (superlative)

Derived Forms

impassively impassiveness impassivity unimpassive

Frequently Paired Words

passive impassible impatient

Synonyms

apathetic phlegmatic unemotional alexithymic apathistical clinical dull cold-blooded cold-hearted dead inside dispassionate emotionless

Rhymes With

massive passive supermassive

Questions

How do you pronounce impassive?: The recorded pronunciation is /ɪmˈpæsɪv/.
What does impassive mean?: Having, or revealing, no emotion.
Where does impassive come from?: From im- (prefix meaning ‘not’) + passive (“which is, or is capable of being, acted on; (obsolete) which suffers, or may suffer, pain, death, etc.”, adjective).

How to pronounce impassive

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “impassive”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ɪmˈpæsɪv/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “impassive”.
Repeat and practice — Say “impassive” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.