Disinterested vs. Uninterested: What’s the difference?

Are you using the world disinterested and uninterested interchangeably? If so, you’re not alone! Disinterested and uninterested are two different words with two different definitions but mixing them up is a common mistake. There are a few ways to keep these two words straight: memorizing their definitions is one option and understanding the root words that make them up is another. Although historically disinterested and uninterested have had more fluid definitions, today their dictionary definitions are more clearly differentiated. Making sure you understand when to use disinterested versus when to use uninterested will help you improve your writing and avoid confusion when communicating ideas.

Definition of disinterested

To be disinterested means to be not interested or no longer interested in a subject matter. Someone is disinterested when they are not engaged in a subject or an outcome, usually because it has no impact on them. Impartial, meaning to be unbiased, is an oft used synonym of disinterested. Other synonyms of disinterested include objective, neutral, and detached. The word disinterested is frequently applied in business and legal circumstances.

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How to use disinterested in a sentence

Here are a few examples of how to use the word disinterested correctly in a sentence:

A good lawyer provides disinterested council.
After she left her position in office, the former mayor disinterested herself in political affairs.

Definition of uninterested

To be uninterested means to not care about something. Someone who is uninterested is not showing an interest in something and does not want to know more about someone or something. Some common synonyms for the word uninterested include indifferent, unconcerned, apathetic, bored, and incurious.

How to use uninterested in a sentence

Here are a few examples of how to use the word disinterested correctly in a sentence:

Tom looked like he was falling asleep during class—he seemed uninterested by the professor’s lecture.
The dog is completely uninterested in playing with me today.

History lesson: earlier meanings of disinterested and uninterested

The words disinterested and uninterested have a complicated history, which is one of the reasons they’re so commonly misused today. According to Merriam-Webster, the first known instance of the word uninterested was in 1629 in Walter Montagu’s The Shephard’s Paradise. In this text, uninterested was used to mean unbiased, which is the contemporary definition of disinterested. Likewise, in the 1630s, the first use of the word disinterested also demonstrates an opposite definition; John Donne used the word to mean not interested. Historically, it appears that disinterested and uninterested were used to mean the same thing for many years. It wasn’t until more recent times that the definitions for disinterested and uninterested solidified into their existing, separate forms.

Root words: dis- vs. un-

Another way to understand the difference between disinterested and uninterested, beyond simply memorizing their definitions, is by looking at the root words that differentiate them. Both words contain a prefix, which is a part of a word that begins a word. The word disinterested starts with the prefix dis-, which means “apart.” Other examples of words with the prefix dis- include distant, dissimilar, disappear, disadvantage, disorder, and disband.

Uninterested, on the other hand, starts with the prefix un-. Un- means “not” and is used to give adjectives, adverbs, and nouns a negative meaning. Other examples of words that use the prefix un- include “unaware,” “unable,” “undress,” “unemployment,” “unfair,” “unfit,” and “uncommon.”

Synonyms to consider instead

Now that you understand the difference between disinterested versus uninterested, you can expand your vocabulary even more! Synonyms are words that mean the exact same thing as another word or have a meaning that very closely related. When you’re ready to branch out, both disinterested and uninterested have plenty of synonyms to choose from.

Disinterested synonyms

Common synonyms for disinterested include the following:

impartial
objective
neutral
detached
equitable
impersonal
unbiased
even-handed
unselfish
uninvolved
unprejudiced

Uninterested synonyms

Common synonyms for uninterested include the following:

indifferent
unconcerned
apathetic
bored
distant
listless
impassive
blasé
unresponsive
uninvolved
incurious

Developing a wide and varied vocabulary and implementing it correctly is an important foundation for becoming a strong writer. Whether it’s properly using disinterested versus uninterested, bare versus bear, or affect versus effect, demonstrating that you’re familiar with the proper usage of similar words is a key part of being an effective communicator.