passion

[ pash-uhn ]

noun

1. any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling, as love or hate.

   Antonyms: apathy

2. strong amorous feeling or desire; love; affection.
3. strong sexual desire; lust.
4. an instance or experience of strong love or sexual desire.
5. a person toward whom one feels strong love or sexual desire.
6. a strong or extravagant fondness, enthusiasm, or desire for anything:

   a passion for music.

   Synonyms: ardor, zeal, fervor

7. the object of such a fondness or desire:

   Accuracy became a passion with him.

8. an outburst of strong emotion or feeling:

   He suddenly broke into a passion of bitter words.

9. violent anger.

   Synonyms: rage, wrath, fury, ire

10. the state of being acted upon or affected by something external, especially something alien to one's nature or one's customary behavior ( action ).
11. (often initial capital letter) Theology.
    1. the sufferings of Christ on the cross or His sufferings subsequent to the Last Supper.
    2. the narrative of Christ's sufferings as recorded in the Gospels.
12. Archaic. the sufferings of a martyr.

Passion

¹

/ ˈpæʃən /

noun

1. the sufferings of Christ from the Last Supper to his death on the cross
2. any of the four Gospel accounts of this
3. a musical setting of this

   the St Matthew Passion

passion

²

/ ˈpæʃən /

noun

1. ardent love or affection
2. intense sexual love
3. a strong affection or enthusiasm for an object, concept, etc

   a passion for poetry

4. any strongly felt emotion, such as love, hate, envy, etc
5. a state or outburst of extreme anger

   he flew into a passion

6. the object of an intense desire, ardent affection, or enthusiasm
7. an outburst expressing intense emotion

   he burst into a passion of sobs

8. philosophy
   1. any state of the mind in which it is affected by something external, such as perception, desire, etc, as contrasted with action
   2. feelings, desires or emotions, as contrasted with reason
9. the sufferings and death of a Christian martyr

Other Words From

• passion·ful adjective
• passion·ful·ly adverb
• passion·ful·ness noun
• passion·like adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of passion¹

First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English, from Old French, from Medieval Latin passiōn-, stem of passiō “Christ's sufferings on the cross,” any of the Biblical accounts of these, special use of Late Latin passiō “suffering, submission,” equivalent to Latin pass(us), past participle of patī “to suffer, submit” + -iō -ion; patient ( def )

Word History and Origins

Origin of passion¹

C12: via French from Church Latin passiō suffering, from Latin patī to suffer

Example Sentences

She has a passion for helping her community and educating others through her writing.

From Fortune

She also began allowing employees to focus on passion projects, and said doing so made everyone more excited about their jobs and more eager to perform well.

From Fortune

For actress Maggie Siff, holed up in Maine with her family during the pandemic and rekindling old passions, America’s racial justice reckoning has been powerful.

From Ozy

Nasirabadi Reza is an internet marketing specialist with a passion for writing and sharing valuable insights gained through years of experience in the industry.

From Search Engine Watch

Most brands are still committed to the passion of it and a sponsorship strategy.

From Digiday

Comments like that are designed to stoke the fires of fan-passion—and it works beautifully.

From The Daily Beast

Sex and passion; compulsive, life-changing, soul-altering sex, all to be made more explicit than he had done in the past.

From The Daily Beast

During the course of my time behind the bar I developed a passion for single malt Scotch.

From The Daily Beast

The machismo of Afghan male culture apparently coexists with a little-noted passion for gardening.

From The Daily Beast

The younger brother would try everything in his power from a distance to subdue the roaring flames of passion.

From The Daily Beast

To Americans Mrs. Wright is interesting by reason of her patriotism, which amounted to a passion.

From Project Gutenberg

A look of passion came into the face of the watching boy, and again he fingered his revolver.

From Project Gutenberg

Under all man's dreams of eternal gods and eternal heavens lies man's passion for the eternal feminine.

From Project Gutenberg

The Seneschal stood with blanched face and gaping mouth, his fire all turned to ashes before the passion of this gaunt man.

From Project Gutenberg

“I went into a great passion and frightened my mother into a fit,” said Wardle.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• affection
• anger
• ardor
• dedication
• devotion
• excitement
• feeling
• fervor
• fury
• intensity
• joy
• rage
• resentment
• sentiment
• spirit
• temper
• warmth
• zeal

When To Use

What are other ways to say passion?

Passion refers to any powerful emotion or feeling, such as love or hate. When should you use this noun over feeling, emotion, or sentiment? Find out on Thesaurus.com.