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disinterested vs. uninterested

This is the pair where the wrong word is most likely to offend, and the mechanism is worth understanding. A disinterested judge is doing the job properly. An uninterested judge is asleep. Call the wrong one by the wrong name and you have not made a spelling slip — you have made an accusation.

disinterested

An adjective meaning impartial, having no personal stake in the outcome.

  • We need a disinterested third party to review it.
  • The arbitrator must be disinterested.
  • A disinterested observer would reach the same conclusion.
  • He is not disinterested here — he owns shares in both companies.

uninterested

An adjective meaning not interested, bored, indifferent.

  • The audience was visibly uninterested.
  • She seemed uninterested in the details.
  • He was uninterested in a settlement.
  • Uninterested is about attention; disinterested is about interest in the financial sense.

Quick way to remember

Ask whether you mean "impartial" or "bored." Impartial takes "disinterested" — think of "interest" as in a financial stake, which a disinterested person does not hold. Bored takes "uninterested." If you are describing someone's fairness, never use "uninterested."