What's the difference between the meanings of uninterested vs. disinterested? Are they interchangeable?
What's the difference between the meanings of uninterested vs. disinterested? Are they interchangeable?
etween the meanings of uninterested vs. disinterested? Are they in
Merriam Webster has this to say:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/uninterested
Disinterested and uninterested have a tangled history. Uninterested originally meant impartial, but this sense fell into disuse during the 18th century. About the same time the original sense of disinterested also disappeared, with uninterested developing a new sense—the present meaning—to take its place. The original sense of uninterested is still out of use, but the original sense of disinterested revived in the early 20th century. The revival has since been under frequent attack as an illiteracy and a blurring or loss of a useful distinction. Actual usage shows otherwise. The "free from selfish interest" sense of disinterested is still its most frequent sense, especially in edited prose; it shows no sign of vanishing. Further, disinterested has developed an additional sense—"no longer interested"—perhaps influenced by the "deprive of" sense of the prefix dis-, that contrasts with uninterested.
when I grow tired or disinterested in anything, I experience a disgust —
Jack London, letter, 1914
Still, use of the "not interested" and "no longer interested" senses of disinterested will incur the disapproval of some who may not fully appreciate the history of this word or the subtleties of its present use.
While acknowledging the dictionary quote from Dominions Son, I'd say that from my own reading and experience I would interpret uninterested as passive and disinterested as active.
In other words, if I saw the word disinterested in a story I word interpret it as a subject that the character is specifically not interested in learning about or talking about, such as someone who actively avoids talking about politics or religion, or a child-free person who makes it clear that they don't want to hear all about your kid's achievements.
Uninterested is simply something you don't care about. You're not going to actively avoid the subject, but you probably won't pay attention or remember anything, either.
Agreement. I was corrected on this as I mixed them up in an essay on 'Twelve Angry Men', in writing of the attitudes of the jurors to the case.
I think of them the other way around. Uninterested is actively not being interested in something. Disinterested is passively not caring one way or the other; the latter leads to the sense of disinterested meaning unbiased.
Here's Grammarly's take on the subject, which I'm not necessarily in full agreement with.
AJ
Here's Grammarly's take on the subject
Grammarly's take agrees with UK usage, including the point that the dis- form is sometimes used where un- would've been correct (but not the other way round).
disinterred
"dis·in·ter
/ˌdisənˈtər,disˌinˈtər/
Learn to pronounce
verb
past tense: disinterred; past participle: disinterred
dig up (something that has been buried, especially a corpse).
"his corpse was disinterred and dumped in a pit"
Similar:
exhume
unearth
dig up
bring out of the ground
bring to the surface
disentomb
unbury
ungrave
discover (something that is well hidden).
"he has disinterred and translated an important collection of writings"
Given the different answers, and the different answers in different dictionaries, it might be best to move away from dogmatism and remember the reason for language: to communicate. If we don't share a common understanding of a word, then how well does it communicate the idea that we're trying to get across?
In my case, I'm most likely to use uninterested for a single adjective, and to spell out the case of not having a vested interest rather than relying on a chancy understanding of disinterested (unless the context does an outstanding job of making it clear.)
The same thing in reverse applies to my take on alright -vs- all right. It communicates the idea and they're both in common usage (which is why it communicates the idea). I'm fine with using either one, unless you're talking about something like a perfect test where the answers are all right.
In my "I don't speak English" outsider's take coming from an analytical language with strong derivative grammar tools to the point it's natural and expected to make words up as you speak, my intuition make uninterested to be passive and permanent, as in he never had interest about that subject, and disinterested as active and developed, as in he consciously decided to have no further interest in the subject. The additional meanings of disinterested thus came as slight surprise to be specifically noted and remembered.
I suspect the trends may therefore reflect influence of large numbers of non-native speakers influx in the language, seeking and developing systems where there is none.