disinterested
Definitions
Not influenced by personal advantage; impartial and fair.
公正无私的；不偏不倚的。
Root Breakdown
Root-deriveddis- (not) + interested (having a personal stake) = having no personal stake, therefore impartial. Trace it to the root: your 'being' (est) is not 'between' you and the matter — you gain nothing either way, so you can judge fairly.
Usage Guide
A famous usage trap: disinterested means 'impartial' (a disinterested referee), NOT 'bored.' The word for 'not interested / bored' is uninterested. Careful writers keep them apart, though the boundary is blurring in casual speech.
Example Sentences
- 1.
We need a disinterested third party to settle the dispute.
- 2.
A judge must give disinterested, unbiased rulings.
- 3.
Her advice was valuable because it was completely disinterested.
Easily Confused
disinterested vs uninterested — disinterested = impartial, having no personal stake (a disinterested judge). uninterested = not interested, bored (an uninterested student). Mixing them up is one of the most-corrected errors in English.