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Definition of passion - 5 dictionary results

pas⋅sion

  [pash-uhn]
Use passion in a Sentence
–noun
1. any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling, as love or hate.
2. strong amorous feeling or desire; love; ardor.
3. strong sexual desire; lust.
4. an instance or experience of strong love or sexual desire.
5. a person toward whom one feels strong love or sexual desire.
6. a strong or extravagant fondness, enthusiasm, or desire for anything: a passion for music.
7. the object of such a fondness or desire: Accuracy became a passion with him.
8. an outburst of strong emotion or feeling: He suddenly broke into a passion of bitter words.
9. violent anger.
10. the state of being acted upon or affected by something external, esp. something alien to one's nature or one's customary behavior (contrasted with action ).
11. (often initial capital letter) Theology.
a. the sufferings of Christ on the cross or His sufferings subsequent to the Last Supper.
b. the narrative of Christ's sufferings as recorded in the Gospels.
12. Archaic. the sufferings of a martyr.
Origin:
1125–75; ME (< OF) < ML passiōn- (s. of passiō) Christ's sufferings on the cross, any of the Biblical accounts of these (> late OE passiōn), special use of LL passiō suffering, submission, deriv. of L passus, ptp. of patī to suffer, submit; see -ion

Related forms:
pas⋅sion⋅ful, adjective
pas⋅sion⋅ful⋅ly, adverb
pas⋅sion⋅ful⋅ness, noun
pas⋅sion⋅like, adjective

Synonyms:
1. See feeling. 6. fervor, zeal, ardor. 9. ire, fury, wrath, rage.

Antonyms:
1. apathy.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To passion
pas·sion   (pāsh'ən)   
n.  

  1. A powerful emotion, such as love, joy, hatred, or anger.

    1. Ardent love.

    2. Strong sexual desire; lust.

    3. The object of such love or desire.

    4. Boundless enthusiasm: His skills as a player don't quite match his passion for the game.

    5. The object of such enthusiasm: Soccer is her passion.

    6. The sufferings of Jesus in the period following the Last Supper and including the Crucifixion, as related in the New Testament.

    7. A narrative, musical setting, or pictorial representation of Jesus's sufferings.

    1. Boundless enthusiasm: His skills as a player don't quite match his passion for the game.

    2. The object of such enthusiasm: Soccer is her passion.

    3. The sufferings of Jesus in the period following the Last Supper and including the Crucifixion, as related in the New Testament.

    4. A narrative, musical setting, or pictorial representation of Jesus's sufferings.

  4. An abandoned display of emotion, especially of anger: He's been known to fly into a passion without warning.

  5. Passion

    1. The sufferings of Jesus in the period following the Last Supper and including the Crucifixion, as related in the New Testament.

    2. A narrative, musical setting, or pictorial representation of Jesus's sufferings.

  6. Archaic Martyrdom.

  7. Archaic Passivity.


[Middle English, from Old French, from Medieval Latin passiō, passiōn-, sufferings of Jesus or a martyr, from Late Latin, physical suffering, martyrdom, sinful desire, from Latin, an undergoing, from passus, past participle of patī, to suffer; see pē(i)- in Indo-European roots.]
Synonyms: These nouns denote powerful, intense emotion. Passion is a deep, overwhelming emotion: "There is not a passion so strongly rooted in the human heart as envy" (Richard Brinsley Sheridan).
The term may signify sexual desire or anger: "He flew into a violent passion and abused me mercilessly" (H.G. Wells).
Fervor is great warmth and intensity of feeling: "The union of the mathematician with the poet, fervor with measure, passion with correctness, this surely is the ideal" (William James).
Fire is burning passion: "In our youth our hearts were touched with fire" (Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.)
Zeal is strong, enthusiastic devotion to a cause, ideal, or goal and tireless diligence in its furtherance: "Laurie [resolved], with a glow of philanthropic zeal, to found and endow an institution for ... women with artistic tendencies" (Louisa May Alcott).
Ardor is fiery intensity of feeling: "the furious ardor of my zeal repressed" (Charles Churchill). See Also Synonyms at feeling.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

passion 
c.1175, "sufferings of Christ on the Cross," from O.Fr. passion, from L.L. passionem (nom. passio) "suffering, enduring," from stem of L. pati "to suffer, endure," from PIE base *pei- "to hurt" (cf. Skt. pijati "reviles, scorns," Gk. pema "suffering, misery, woe," O.E. feond "enemy, devil," Goth. faian "to blame"). Sense extended to sufferings of martyrs, and suffering generally, by 1225; meaning "strong emotion, desire" is attested from c.1374, from L.L. use of passio to render Gk. pathos. Replaced O.E. þolung (used in glosses to render L. passio), lit. "suffering," from þolian (v.) "to endure." Sense of "sexual love" first attested 1588; that of "strong liking, enthusiasm, predilection" is from 1638. The passion-flower so called from 1633.
"The name passionflower -- flos passionis -- arose from the supposed resemblance of the corona to the crown of thorns, and of the other parts of the flower to the nails, or wounds, while the five sepals and five petals were taken to symbolize the ten apostles -- Peter ... and Judas ... being left out of the reckoning." ["Encyclopedia Brittanica," 1885]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: pas·sion
Pronunciation: 'pa-sh&n
Function: noun
: intense, driving, or overpowering feeling or emotion; especially : any violent or intense emotion that prevents reflection —see also HEAT OF PASSION
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Bible Dictionary

Passion

Only once found, in Acts 1:3, meaning suffering, referring to the sufferings of our Lord.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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