impersonality

[ im-pur-suh-nal-i-tee ]

noun

, plural im·per·son·al·i·ties

1. absence of human character or of the traits associated with the human character:

   He feared the impersonality of a mechanized world.

2. absence or reduction of concern for individual needs or desires:

   the impersonality of a very large institution.

3. lack of emotional involvement:

   His work reflected a certain impersonality.

4. lack of a personal agent or of a known personal agent:

   the impersonality of folk art.

5. the quality of not being concerned with particular persons:

   the impersonality and universality of his interests.

6. something that is impersonal.

Word History and Origins

Origin of impersonality¹

First recorded in 1760–70; impersonal + -ity

Example Sentences

The effect is to emphasize the locations’ impersonality while also conveying a sense of intimacy.

From Washington Post

Behind the impersonality of money lies an intensely personal, often compensatory compulsion.

From The Daily Beast

The very impersonality of this conception makes it a good picture of what religion was in the Roman state.

From Project Gutenberg

She had retreated behind a barrier of impersonality,—an impersonality as stiff and starched and forbidding as the outward form.

From Project Gutenberg

Its rule combines the disadvantage of absolute monarchy with the impersonality and irresponsibility of democratic officialdom.

From Project Gutenberg

His work, stripped of all general ideas and of all subjective aspects, is of a rather curious impersonality.

From Project Gutenberg

And he seemed to feel the business world, with its regulated system of values, and its impersonality, and he dreaded it.

From Project Gutenberg