ə̇m, (ˈ)im+ adjective
Etymology: in- (I) + passive
1. : devoid of passion, feeling, or receptivity to impression:
a. archaic : unsusceptible to pain, suffering, injury, or harm : invulnerable
b. : unsusceptible to physical feeling : insensible , inanimate
a dial cut in impassive stone — Virginia Woolf
c. : unsusceptible to or destitute of emotion : unimpressionable
the violet pallor of death … enveloped her in an impassive remoteness — Ellen Glasgow
a large dull impassive man
2. : giving no sign of feeling or emotion : expressionless
beneath a reserved and impassive surface, a highly nervous and sensitive person — Havelock Ellis
a cold impassive stare — Charles Dickens
3. : not moving in any way : motionless
we can load up a piece of amber … with the greatest possible excess of negative charge, and still it remains absolutely impassive in the presence of a magnet — K.K.Darrow
Synonyms:
stoic , apathetic , phlegmatic , stolid : impassive applies to one who shows no passion, emotion, sensation, or noticeable interest in situations in which such a reaction might be expected
the veil of impassive reserve with which I concealed the whole of my intimate personal life — Havelock Ellis
I watched the man's face while Nelson was relating the story, but he remained impassive, showing neither interest in nor concern for our plight — C.B.Nordhoff & J.N.Hall
stoic may suggest an indifference to pain or pleasure, perhaps through a conscious schooling of oneself in fortitude
it sums up not only the cataclysm of a world, but also the stoic and indomitable temper that endures it — J.L.Lowes
a stoic atmosphere of fortitude in adversity — Orville Prescott
apathetic may describe a puzzling, remiss, or blameworthy indifference or a preoccupation with something else that precludes normal interest and reactions
enforcement of the liquor laws was lax, and sentiment was apathetic to the evils of excessive drinking — C.A.Dinsmore
the row of stolid, dull, vacant plowboys, ungainly in build, uncomely in face, lifeless, apathetic — Samuel Butler †1902
phlegmatic describes a temperament or disposition not given to ready emotional reaction or similar response
the religious mysticism that lurked in the heart of primitive Puritanism found no response in his phlegmatic soul — V.L.Parrington
stolid implies an accustomed heavy or cloddish obtuse inperceptive and incurious lack of interest, emotion, or other response
an agricultural parish, peopled by stolid Saxon rustics, in whom the temperature of religious zeal was little, if at all, above absolute zero — Aldous Huxley
watched for an expression of hatred, or pity, or horror, on the faces of the multitude. No emotion whatsoever was displayed — nothing but stolid indifference — V.G.Heiser