- 1(usually disapproving) lacking friendly human feelings or atmosphere; making you feel unimportant a vast impersonal organization an impersonal hotel room Business letters need not be formal and impersonal. a cold impersonal stare His touch was as impersonal as that of a doctor.
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- 2not referring to any particular person Let's keep the criticism general and impersonal.
- 3(grammar) an impersonal verb or sentence has “it” or “there” as the subject
NAmE//ɪmˌpərsəˈnælət̮i//
noun [uncountable] the cold impersonality of some modern cities NAmE//ɪmˈpərsənəli//
adverb Language Bankimpersonalgiving opinions using impersonal language- It is vital that more is done to prevent the illegal trade in wild animals. (Compare: We have to do more to stop people trading wild animals illegally. )
- It is clear that more needs to be done to protect biodiversity. (Compare: We clearly need to do more to protect biodiversity. )
- It is unfortunate that the practice of keeping monkeys as pets still continues. (Compare: It's absolutely terrible that people still keep monkeys as pets. )
- It is difficult for many people to understand the reasons why certain individuals choose to hunt animals for sport. (Compare: I can't understand why anyone would want to kill animals for fun. )
- Unfortunately, it would seem that not enough is being done to support tiger conservation. (Compare: Governments aren't doing enough to help tiger conservation. )
- There is no doubt that the greatest threat to polar bears comes from global warming. (Compare: I believe that the greatest threat… )
Check pronunciation: impersonal