From French impersonnel, from Latin impersōnālis, from im- ("not") + persōnālis ("personal"), equivalent to .

• (America) IPA: /ɪmˈpɝsənəl/
• (Northern England English, Syllabic post-schwa consonants) IPA: /ɪmˈpɜː.sn̩.ɫ̩/

impersonal

1. Not personal; not representing a person; not having personality.
   • 1853, James Stephen, On Desultory and Systematic Reading: A Lecture:

     The great tragedians of Greece reveal to us their people's exquisite sense of beauty, and their faith in an awful, an almighty, but an impersonal power, called Fate

2. Lacking warmth or emotion; cold.

   She sounded impersonal as she gave her report of the Nazi death camps.

   • 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC ↗:

     And now it appeared that there was a mysterious Queen clothed by rumour with dread and wonderful attributes, and commonly known by the impersonal, but, to my mind, rather awesome title of She.

3. (grammar, of a verb or other word) Not having a subject, or having a third person pronoun without an antecedent.

   Synonyms: monopersonal, unipersonal

   The verb “rain” is impersonal in sentences like “It’s raining.”

• personal

• German: unpersönlich
• Russian: безли́чный
• Spanish: impersonal

• German: unpersönlich
• Portuguese: impessoal
• Russian: отчуждённый
• Spanish: impersonal

• French: impersonnel
• German: unpersönlich
• Russian: безли́чный
• Spanish: impersonal

impersonal (plural impersonals)

1. (grammar) An impersonal word or construct.