uninterested
adjective
Disinterested vs. Uninterested: Usage Guide
Confusion about the meanings of disinterested and uninterested is longstanding and may be due to their tangled histories. When disinterested and uninterested entered the language in the 17th century, disinterested meant "not interested" and uninterested meant "not biased." Since then, the situation has all but reversed itself. Uninterested now means only "not interested."
Disinterested can mean either "not biased" or "not interested," but is most commonly used to mean "not biased."
However, disinterested is more common than uninterested in contexts that suggest a loss of interest.
Jack London, letter, 1914
Still, use of the "not interested" sense 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.
Examples of uninterested in a Sentence
Annalisa Merelli, STAT, 2 Feb. 2026
The assignment is to sit there and talk about it in public and possibly embarrass yourself by getting into a verbal confrontation in front of a restaurant of otherwise uninterested bystanders.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 30 Jan. 2026
Niazi appears uninterested in asserting her voice on the page, a lack of literary care that seems connected to her tendency—odd in a memoir—to nudge away from introspection.
—Lily Meyer, The Atlantic, 29 Jan. 2026
Why are people who live in white-majority countries so uninterested in the real story, even unwilling to believe it?
—Eve Fairbanks, The Dial, 27 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for uninterested
Cite this Entry
“Uninterested.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/uninterested. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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