ISEE/SSAT Vocabulary BuilderWordsIimpassive
ISEE/SSAThard
impassive
Meaning: showing no emotion or reaction
impassive in a sentence
How impassive is used in real sentences:
The guard remained impassive as the protesters shouted outside the gate.
Mara listened with an impassive expression that concealed whether she agreed.
“In public, he remained impassive when reporters mocked the strange partnership; in private, his letters reveal mounting alarm.”
— from the passage An Opera by Post
Synonyms for impassive
Other words for impassive — stoic, unemotional and expressionless — carry the same meaning.
- stoic
- unemotional
- expressionless
Antonyms of impassive
Words that mean the opposite of impassive:
- expressive
- emotional
- reactive
Where it comes from
From Late Latin impassivus, meaning 'unable to suffer or feel.'
Memory hook
IM-PASSIVE means 'not responsive': an impassive face gives nothing away.