# passion

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈpæʃən/ · frequency rank #3,382

## Definitions
1. A true desire sustained or prolonged.
2. Any great, strong, powerful emotion, especially romantic love or extreme hate.
3. Fervor, determination.
4. An object of passionate or romantic love or strong romantic interest.
5. Sexual intercourse, especially when very emotional.
6. The suffering of Jesus leading up to and during his crucifixion.
7. A display, musical composition, or play meant to commemorate the suffering of Jesus.
8. Suffering or enduring of imposed or inflicted pain; any suffering or distress.
9. The state of being acted upon; subjection to an external agent or influence; a passive condition
10. The capacity of being affected by external agents; susceptibility of impressions from external agents.
11. An innate attribute, property, or quality of a thing.
12. Disorder of the mind; madness.

## Etymology
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *peh₁-
Proto-Italic *patosder.?
Proto-Indo-European *pet-der.?
Latin patior
Proto-Indo-European *-tisder.
Proto-Italic *-tjō
Latin -tiō
Latin passiōbor.
Old English passion
▲
Latin passiōbor.
Old French passionbor.
Middle English passioun
English passion
From Middle English passioun, passion, from Old French passion (and in part from Old English passion), from Latin passio (“suffering”), noun of action from perfect passive participle passus (“suffered”), from deponent verb patior (“to suffer”), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₁- (“to hurt”), see also Old English fēond (“devil, enemy”), Gothic 𐍆𐌰𐌹𐌰𐌽 (faian, “to blame”).

## Easily confused with
- **pension** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/passion-vs-pension)
- **passive** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/passion-vs-passive)
- **passions** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/passion-vs-passions)
- **parson** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/parson-vs-passion)
- **passing** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/passing-vs-passion)

## Common misspellings (9)
`apssion`, `pasion`, `pasison`, `passino`, `passionn`, `passoin`, `pastion`, `ppassion`, `psasion`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/passion