impersonal

views updated May 29 2018

im·per·son·al / imˈpərsənl/ • adj. 1. not influenced by, showing, or involving personal feelings: the impersonal march of progress. ∎  (of a place or organization) large, featureless, and anonymous: large, impersonal institutions. ∎  not betraying any personal information about the user or subject: the room was bare, cramped, and impersonal.2. not existing as a person; having no personality: he gradually came to believe in an impersonal God.3. Gram. (of a verb) used only with a formal subject (in English usually it) and expressing an action not attributable to a definite subject (as in it is snowing).DERIVATIVES: im·per·son·al·i·ty / -ˌpərsəˈnalitē/ n.im·per·son·al·ly adv.

impersonal

views updated May 18 2018

impersonal (gram.) XVI; not personal XVII. — late L. impersōnālis; see IM-2, PERSONAL.