Revised as of 9 April 2021
Not a common word confusion, but one that has been cropping up rather frequently. It must be the excitement in the Crimea these days. I wouldn’t say I was disinterested in events in Ukraine, but more uninterested. It’s always war, war, war over there. And I’m becoming bored with war.
Word Confusions…
…started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noir for you from either end.
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| Disinterested | Uninterested |
|---|---|
| Credit to: Apple Dictionary.com; Kidder, 177 | |
Low-voltage Insulation Tester is Tambo’s own work under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. — Such testers are totally disinterested in the results. |
Bored by Harlequeen from Cambridge, United Kingdom, is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. — This raccoon is totally uninterested in his surroundings. |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Adjective | Adjective |
| Impartial
Unbiased Not influenced by considerations of personal advantage Having or feeling no interest in something |
Bored
Not interested in or concerned about something or someone Apathetic |
| Examples: | |
| A banker is under an obligation to give disinterested advice.
Her father was so disinterested in her progress that he only visited the school once. The judge is disinterested. |
I was totally uninterested in boys.
So many voters are uninterested voices. |
| Derivatives: | |
| Adverb: disinterestedly Noun: disinterest, disinterestedness |
Adjective: uninteresting Adverb: uninterestedly, uninterestingly Noun: uninterestedness, uninterestingness |
| History of the Word: | |
| Early 17th century as a past participle of the rare verb disinterest meaning rid of interest or concern, from dis- meaning expressing removal + the verb interest. | 1640s, meaning unbiased is from un- (not) + past participle of interest. |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan…which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them…and we’ll all benefit!
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Pinterest Photo Credits
Learning, <https://visualhunt.com/photo/46660/>, by CollegeDegrees360 is under the CC BY-SA license, via VisualHunt.
