disinterested
dis·in·ter·est·ed/dɪsˈɪnt(ə)ɹəstəd/adjective, verb
disinterested is spelled D-I-S-I-N-T-E-R-E-S-T-E-D: 13 letters and 5 syllables (dis·in·ter·est·ed). It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 32,393rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “disinterested vs uninterested” about 2,400 times a month (Google, United States). As an adjective, disinterested means “Having no interest or stake in the outcome, and no conflicts of interest; free of bias, impartial” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in disinterested?
| Letters | 13: D-I-S-I-N-T-E-R-E-S-T-E-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 5: dis·in·ter·est·ed |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 32,393rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How common is disinterested?
Disinterested appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 32,393rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce disinterested?
- UK /(ˌ)dɪsˈɪntɹɪstɪd/
- UK /(ˌ)dɪsˈɪnt(ə)ɹɛstɪd/
- US /dɪsˈɪnt(ə)ɹəstəd/
Disinterested has 5 syllables, split dis·in·ter·est·ed in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Back_ache-Disinterested.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_(NaomiAmethyst)-disinterested.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with disinterested
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of disinterested
- more disinterested comparative
- most disinterested superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does disinterested mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Having no interest or stake in the outcome, and no conflicts of interest; free of bias, impartial.
- 2
proscribedSynonym of uninterested (“not interested; not concerned; indifferent”).
verb
- 1
simple past and past participle of disinterest
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Disinterested in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | désintéressé |
| German | unparteiisch , desinteressiert |
| Portuguese | desinteressado |
| Spanish | desinteresado, desinteresal |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does disinterested come from?
From disinterest (“to cause to be impartial”, verb) + -ed (suffix forming past tense or past participle forms of verbs), or from dis- (prefix meaning ‘not’) + interested (“having a stake in; showing interest”, adjective).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).