disinterestedness

noun

dis·​in·​ter·​est·​ed·​ness (ˌ)dis-ˈin-trə-stəd-nəs 

-ˈin-tə-ˌre-,

-tə-rə-,

-tər-;

-ˈin-ˌtre-

: the quality or state of being objective or impartial

Synonyms

• detachment
• disinterest
• equity
• evenhandedness
• fair-mindedness
• fairness
• impartiality
• justice
• neutralism
• neutrality
• nonpartisanship
• objectiveness
• objectivity

Examples of disinterestedness in a Sentence

the disinterestedness with which the newspaper reports stories earns it the respect and trust of the community

a fair measure of the level of disinterestedness in the proceedings was the near-constant yawning by both participants and observers

Recent Examples on the Web

The Chilean Minister of Foreign Affairs then assumed the initiative by denying Peru's disinterestedness, charging Peru with seeking to injure Chilean interests by her nitrate measures, and with keeping secret the treaty of alliance between Peru and Bolivia. —Edwin M. Borchard, Foreign Affairs, 7 Oct. 2011

The first had to do with the principle of disinterestedness, which called for partisan politics to be kept out of scholarship and the classroom. —Louis Menand, The New Yorker, 15 Mar. 2021

You can’t be disinterested, because everyone knows that disinterestedness is a façade. —Louis Menand, The New Yorker, 30 Jan. 2023

The news anchors maintained a posture of disinterestedness. —Louis Menand, The New Yorker, 30 Jan. 2023

These functions are all masked by the academic ideology of disinterestedness. —Louis Menand, The New Yorker, 15 Mar. 2021

Both knew the artistic value of reserve, of disinterestedness. —Washington Post, 8 Nov. 2019

But Robert Brookings’s early model of political disinterestedness and scientific objectivity began to erode soon afterward. —John B. Judis, New Republic, 15 Sep. 2017

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1682, in the meaning defined above