Basic Details
Word: Impersonal
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Not showing friendly human feelings; also, not about any particular person.
Synonyms: cold, detached, formal, distant
Antonyms: personal, friendly, warm
How to Spell Impersonal
Syllables: im - per - son - al
Tricky part: It is im- + personal, with one n and the ending -al, not -el or -le. The middle is per, not pur.
Watch out for: impersonel, imparsonal, impersonnal
Memory tip: One person, one n. Write person, add al for personal, and put im- in front for the cold version.
Usage Examples
Example 1: The letter from the bank was polite but impersonal, beginning 'Dear Customer'.
Example 2: Large hospitals can feel impersonal when you are only a token number.
Example 3: The judge kept her voice calm and impersonal while reading the verdict.
Fun Fact
Grammar has impersonal sentences too: in 'It is raining', the word it does not refer to any person or thing at all.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Only one of these words is spelt correctly. Choose its meaning:
1. bureaucrasy 2. formallity 3. impersonal 4. corespondence
a) not showing friendly human feelings
b) a system of government run by many officials
c) a rule or custom that must be followed
d) the writing of letters between people
Show answer
a) not showing friendly human feelings. Bureaucracy ends in -cracy, formality has one l and correspondence has a double r.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word impersonal as used in the sentence:
The new hotel's welcome felt impersonal, with a printed card and a key left on the counter.
a) official
b) warm
c) distant
d) formal
Show answer
b) warm. A warm welcome is friendly and personal; formal and distant point the same way as impersonal.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence to form a meaningful word:
The hospital waiting room felt cold and nopalrmise, with bare walls and rows of numbered chairs.
a) imperial
b) personal
c) impersonal
d) impartial
Show answer
c) impersonal. All ten letters, including the s and the o, must be used, and only impersonal takes them all.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. An impersonal email is most likely to ____.
a) be sent to thousands of customers at once
b) include a joke only you would understand
c) ask about your new puppy
d) be signed with love from your aunt
Show answer
a) be sent to thousands of customers at once
2. A teacher who marks papers in an impersonal way ____.
a) judges only the answers, not the student
b) refuses to mark at all
c) writes long notes to each child
d) gives higher marks to friends
Show answer
a) judges only the answers, not the student
