If you don’t care about a case outcome, are you disinterested or uninterested?
Disinterested (adjective):
- Disinterested is an adjective that describes someone who is neutral, objective, and impartial: “The judge remained disinterested throughout the trial.”
Uninterested (adjective):
- Uninterested is an adjective that describes someone who lacks interest, curiosity, or enthusiasm: “The plaintiff seemed uninterested in answering this new line of questioning from the State.”
Rule: If a person is NEUTRAL, use disinterested; if a person LACKS interest, use uninterested.
- Tip: Judges are disinterested arbiters who dislike their motives being questioned.
I hope after this lesson that you’re not too uninterested in completing the following practice problems.
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