Definition of passion in English:

passion

noun

1mass noun Strong and barely controllable emotion.
‘a man of impetuous passion’
- ‘But I think Kate got her passion, her strong feelings from approval of what here mother was doing.’
- ‘In addition to education in specific areas of interest, one should also have a strong innate passion and interest for the profession.’
- ‘Within the context of modernity, the autonomous artist, as a creative being, explores varying moods, passion, sentiments and emotions.’
- ‘The prospect of war has roused strong passions, drawing politicians and public figures into pro and anti positions.’
- ‘In Finland, anger, passion and emotion suggest you're not in control.’
- ‘Its true nature is often obscured by strong emotions like anger and passion.’
- ‘I appreciate his focus, insight and passion, but take strong exception to his analytical framework.’
- ‘Passion is essential for this strong commitment, without passion there is no real direction and vision is short-lived.’
- ‘This madness went will with the eccentric enthusiasm of hundreds of people gathered, filling the whole atmosphere with a strong current of passion and action.’
- ‘This obvious political charade does not engender strong passion.’
- ‘And, of course, probably the most important issue is that you've actually got to have a really strong passion for what you want to do.’
- ‘Week after week I read the letters and such a strong sense of passion is evident in the words of so many people.’
- ‘When such passion burns strong, one will risk all.’
- ‘The convergence of holiness and physical passion carries as strong a charge in this gem-like painting as it does in The Song of Songs itself.’
- ‘He would always have a strong, fiery passion for whatever he believed in, and at times, it could get a little overwhelming.’
- ‘For a leader, this calls for commitment, a sense of passion and a strong drive to work for the underprivileged and the very poor at the grassroots.’
- ‘It makes my passion stronger to find other choices.’
- ‘Struggling to co-ordinate the microphone and loudspeakers, it all looked a bit amateur, but at the same time I appreciated the emotion, passion and integrity of the moment.’
- ‘There was a certain complexity to the music, but it was - without a doubt - filled with passion and emotion.’
- ‘Particular passion was aroused by the demand that firefighters be designated as such, and identified by their engine companies.’
sensibilities, sensitivities, self-esteem, ego, pride
View synonyms
1. 1.1in singular A state or outburst of strong emotion.
  ‘oratory in which he gradually works himself up into a passion’
  ‘I stood still at the window, taken aback by the passion of the outburst as much as the completely unexpected words.’
  ‘Although not a football fan himself, 44-year-old Len said working on the book gave him a unique insight to the passion and emotions of the game.’
  ‘With real-life college football starting up recently, I literally get goose bumps listening to the passion and emotion of the crowds.’
  ‘It would be a shame, this team has worked so hard all year and the passion and raw emotion with which they play is something this competition needs desperately.’
  ‘There is little of the passion that raged and stormed, or of the desperation from which she sought, and appears to have found, a partial release in Roman Catholicism.’
  ‘Fine, you stick to your mall rock and corporate emo, but we'll know where the passion and the fury really is.’
  ‘But having begun for reactionary reasons, the riots quickly showed a passion and fury that suggested deeply felt injustice.’
  ‘The high emotions of the night didn't compare to the passion displayed in this song, as Oberst lowered himself down on stage and sang from his knees.’
  ‘Their deaths are spectacles of passivity in the face of an avenging passion that is beyond their emotional range.’
  ‘I knew they would get somewhere - the passion in Isaiah's voice when he sang was too strong to let him stay in Carmel for the rest of his life.’
  ‘Yesterday, however, the mayor ventured out of New Orleans to visit a shelter in Shreveport where the tempers are short and the passion's high.’
  ‘The main problem is that most of the passion takes the form of rage - about the combination of ridiculous workload and unreal expectations.’
  ‘Instead, the passion and anger that bubbled Dean to the top was focused on something much more fundamental: a basic corruption of government.’
  ‘Given New Yorkers' inclination to declare themselves with intense passion on even the most minor issues, this silence might seem odd.’
  rage, blind rage, fit of anger, fit of rage, fit of temper, temper, towering rage, outburst of anger, tantrum, fury, frenzy, paroxysm, fever
  View synonyms
2. 1.2Intense sexual love.
  ‘their all-consuming passion for each other’
  in singular ‘she nurses a passion for Thomas’
  ‘One or both of you begins to feel suffocated, and the intense vulnerability of sexual passion that was so easy in the early days becomes impossible.’
  ‘Quite the contrary - friendship, love, and sexual passion can all take many forms, and they are likely to be expressed in strong ways in any imaginable society.’
  ‘Erotic love and sexual passion are not things that simply happen to people; you can learn to create them over your lifetime with the same lover.’
  ‘What passes without comment, though, what is accepted as a given, are modern notions of romantic love, the truth of sexual passion.’
  ‘In 90 minutes of compelling drama, the actors explore the impossible intricacies of love, domesticity and sexual passion.’
  ‘Li looked at her wife, whom he had once loved with such passion, and a pain shot through his ice cold heart.’
  ‘And if we had to depend on reason and reproductive technology rather than sexual passion to produce the next generation, we'd be in trouble.’
  ‘The question of sexual passion in late life and what a much older man has to offer a younger woman, apart from the status that traditionally makes him more attractive, is treated very coyly here.’
  ‘She is the epitome of what sexual passion is supposed to signify.’
  ‘Katerina's soul-destroying loneliness and violent sexual passion is expressed in music of soaring lyricism.’
  ‘Perhaps those who still crave sexual passion after 60 didn't get enough of it when they were younger.’
  ‘Last month, my husband returned from a business trip in Europe, he was hotter than ever before, with more passion and sexual energy than he'd had for years.’
  ‘The process of accumulating sounds of words and elements of sexual passion as if they were notes of a recurring tune informs the sequential movement of the whole poem.’
  ‘He watched her face as their passion became more intense.’
  ‘He is as implacable in giving life as he is in taking it; as responsible for the exhilaration of sexual passion as he is for its diminution and loss.’
  ‘Their relationship was always filled with this intense passion.’
  ‘Although the kiss was brief, she could feel his intense passion.’
  ‘Victoria and Albert came to love each other with a strong physical passion, yet she hated pregnancy, childbirth, babies, and children.’
  ‘Even if there was no formal ceremony and no icon to celebrate it, they were bound together by something stronger than erotic passion and he claims substantial credit for maintaining her rule.’
  ‘He was a teenager in the grip of a strong, young passion, and Bess was his unattainable beloved.’
  love, desire, sexual love, sexual desire, lust, ardour, hunger, yearning, longing, craving, adoration, infatuation, lasciviousness, lustfulness
  View synonyms
3. 1.3in singular An intense desire or enthusiasm for something.
  ‘the English have a passion for gardens’
  ‘But he came with a wealth of knowledge, an abundance of enthusiasm and a passion for the club where his career had kicked off 30 years earlier.’
  ‘Two galleries who partnered with auto dealers found that luxury car enthusiasts also have a passion for art’
  ‘I have the greatest of admiration for people who have a passion for politics.’
  ‘Pair an obsession with organization with a passion for how people think and value… and you get information architecture.’
  ‘Simply put, we have the right people who have a passion for the music.’
  ‘But behind your reserved exterior lies a dedicated person with a passion for the concrete truth who wants to, in his heart of hearts, help find missing children.’
  ‘My teachers are dedicated and professional people who have a passion for the subjects they teach, going beyond the call of duty in the support they provide to help students reach their full potential.’
  ‘Woven into the long days of station work for the Angus family and their crew is the camaraderie of shared interests - particularly a passion for beef and a love of horses.’
  ‘Lancaster is surrounded by wonderful landscapes and the area is full of people with a passion for the outdoors.’
  ‘Now art and green politics are again interwoven in an innovative project, involving hundreds of ordinary people who share a passion for trees and knitting.’
  ‘Conversing with Iglehart for any length of time, reveals a passion for the people and place of India, a place where he continues to visit on a regular basis.’
  ‘The founder of perhaps Scotland's only quality independent wine merchant is expanding the business and needs people with a passion for the grape and the grain.’
  ‘Leading the service, the reverend described Mr Jackson as ‘the most energetic of people’ with a passion for life.’
  ‘Youngsters with a passion for music relished the Devizes Summer School held last week at Southbroom Junior School.’
  ‘Is this true of a young person with a passion for writing books?’
  ‘You meet collectors and curators and people who have a passion for the arts.’
  ‘And he's got his horses, which he breeds for racing, and a passion for good wine.’
  ‘The court was told Mr Jones was a popular young man with a large group of friends who had a passion for music and skateboarding.’
  ‘Organisations can start by hiring people with a passion for their business.’
  ‘You really have to have enthusiasm for that, a passion for it.’
  fervour, ardour, intensity, enthusiasm, eagerness, zeal, zealousness, vehemence, vigour, avidity, avidness, feeling, emotion, fire, heat, fieriness, fierceness, excitement, energy, animation, gusto, zest, zestfulness, spirit, spiritedness, commitment, fanaticism, violence
  enthusiasm, love, mania, keen interest, fascination, obsession, fanaticism, fixation, predilection, compulsion, appetite, relish, partiality, liking, interest, weakness, penchant, addiction, fondness
  View synonyms
4. 1.4count noun A thing arousing great enthusiasm.
  ‘modern furniture is a particular passion of Bill's’
  ‘Natural history and sailing were among his passions, and his enthusiasms were enhanced by his travels.’
  ‘They built the pub not on a template drawn-up by a committee of marketing men, but around their own enthusiasms and passions.’
  ‘In today's world, obsessions become possessions and passions become fashions.’
  ‘They write about their current musical passions and highlight upcoming gigs and events.’
  ‘This project is quite organic and it really is dependent on who is here and the particular passions and interests.’
  ‘He said he was devastated because Levi's and fashion were his passions.’
  ‘The estate would allow him to satisfy his two strongest passions: golf and fishing.’
  ‘She has had strong passion for old cars since childhood.’
  ‘He has a strong incentive: his passion for the mountains, which he shares with others through his tours and photographs.’
  ‘Painting is something Meng has had an even stronger passion for since childhood which is when he first studied Western painting.’
  ‘His tireless passion and strong belief in our campaign has been an ongoing inspiration to all of us.’
  ‘Her strong passion for music began with the love of her father's music.’
  ‘As a Harvard MBA, he has always had very strong passion for teaching and thought effective education could help managers be more successful.’
  ‘Trainers are not driven by money, but by a passion for fitness and desire to help others.’
  ‘She put aside what she was doing and attended to my problem with enthusiasm, showing a passion for her job.’
  ‘Their connection is that they are friends who share a passion for skateboarding and an appreciation for exploring the road.’
  ‘He was someone quite different: a true, generous and loyal friend who shared a passion for vintage cars and was about as far from the stereotype of the aristocratic snob as it was possible to get.’
  ‘Himalayan Enfielders, now nearly a year old with about 70 members, is a forum for people who have a passion for biking in Kathmandu.’
  ‘Mr Morris said beach-fishing which is a much about relaxation than the sport itself, was a passion for many people.’
  ‘He said St Lucia is a football-oriented country and the people had a passion for the game.’
  obsession, preoccupation, craze, mania, rage, hobby horse
  View synonyms
2the PassionThe suffering and death of Jesus.
‘meditations on the Passion of Christ’
- ‘He laments the fact that the U.S. bishops have not explicitly condemned the film even though it appears to violate their own norms for presentations of the Passion of Jesus.’
- ‘Burton is clearly not happy with the way those afflicted assimilated their suffering to the Passion of Christ, thus giving it personal meaning.’
- ‘She has painted a series of larger than life-sized paintings and drawings depicting the Passion of Jesus.’
- ‘If Jesus related His Passion in this way, it would certainly explain how the disciples picked up that practice!’
- ‘Subsequent Christian retellings of the story of Jesus's Passion repeat this pattern of indirect allusion and variation.’
- ‘At noon on Good Friday the Passion and Death of Our Lord will be remembered with the Stations of the Cross being enacted by the pupils of Scoil Ide Naofa.’
- ‘The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the vindication and glory of his Passion.’
- ‘Obviously, the image for him was Christ, and the Passion and Crucifixion of Jesus Christ.’
- ‘And he reads about the Passion of the Lord Jesus Christ, who was crucified long ago to pay the penalty for sin, and rose from the dead on the third day to open the way to Heaven.’
- ‘On Friday at 3pm, the congregation through the ceremony commemorated the Passion and death of our Lord.’
- ‘The celebrations of Holy Week in many cities and towns of Spain include floats with scenes of the Passion and Death of Christ, and likenesses of the Madonna.’
- ‘A recurrent iconographic image is Christ depicted as the Man of Sorrows, the Christ of the Passion, and there are several fine examples here.’
- ‘Have any of you ever spent any time in meditation on the Passion of Jesus?’
crucifixion, pain, suffering, agony, martyrdom
View synonyms
1. 2.1An account of the Passion from any of the Gospels.
  ‘There is no single Gospel story of the Passion; there are subtle differences among the four accounts.’
  ‘But soon enough we hear the Passion narrative as told by St. Luke, and the atmosphere changes.’
  ‘But we move from the procession to the long narrative for the day, the full Passion from Matthew.’
  ‘Jesus fulfilled that prophecy in his day, riding into Jerusalem in peace, as the evangelists tell us in the Passion narrative.’
  ‘The book follows the story of Jesus from the genealogies in Matthew and Luke to the Passion narratives.’
  ‘Against the backdrop of the first century world, Judas is not the enemy of Matthew's Passion narrative; instead, he is one its heroes.’
  ‘Did Seneca author the original Passion narrative?’
  ‘As it turned out, the congregation was taking part in a dramatic reading of the Passion narrative.’
  ‘Luke's Passion narrative forms the mainstay of this suggestion.’
  ‘It had a discussion of the Passion in the four Gospels, and the complete Gospel account from Mark.’
  ‘It does not seem to fit the theology of John's Gospel at all, nor does it seem to suit the concerns of John's Passion narrative.’
  ‘The second forceful exposition of the way of Jesus, the so-called Passion prediction at 9: 33, is also not understood by the disciples.’
  ‘For the second time this week we hear the Passion of Jesus, this time as told by John.’
  ‘Thanks to the Ministers of the Word and Eucharist, the Pastoral Team who provided us with powerful symbols of the Passion, death and Resurrection and help in organising the Liturgies.’
  ‘The Liturgy of the Passion of Jesus will be at 3 p.m. in Stradbally and at 4 in the other two churches.’
2. 2.2A musical setting of any of the biblical accounts of the Passion.
  ‘an aria from Bach's St Matthew Passion’
  ‘Mayr's reflective settings of The Passion and Stabat Mater can also be found on Guild GMCD 7251-2.’
  ‘It was a Hamburg senator that published his Passion oratorio libretto in 1712.’
  ‘When performed as Bach clearly intended and obviously felt, the Passion induces the most profound emotions that music can give.’
  ‘Priory has now issued two collections of his anthems, the first celebrating Easter to Trinity, this one devoted mainly to Advent as far as the Passion.’
  ‘In 1827 Mendelssohn and Devrient assembled a small choir in the family's Berlin home to try out some of the Passion's choruses.’
  ‘And how would Bach compose a Passion if he had lived in South America at the end of the twentieth century?’
  ‘With this Naxos release, the Passion is available on a budget-priced CD for the first time.’
  ‘In those two hours, the audience, the congregation, the singers, the musicians, re-live, in a powerful way, the Passion and Crucifixion of Christ.’
  ‘The Westminster Symphonic Choir and the American Boychoir will be performing St. John Passion.’
  ‘It takes its inspiration from the way Bach and other composers fused music and the Passion story.’
  ‘The programme looks at the Christian Passion story as perceived by composers through short pieces from the 16th through to the 20th centuries.’
  ‘Having done all I can with Messiah and Passion performances for this year, I decided to indulge in some reading of glossy magazines.’
  ‘Bach later incorporated this cantata's beautiful final movement, a concerted setting of the same chorale melody, into his St. John's Passion.’
  ‘York Musical Society presents Bach's St John Passion for the first time since 1995 on Sunday, April 13 at 6.30 pm at York Minster.’
  ‘Good Friday, April 9, the Young People's Choir will sing Liturgy of the Lord's Passion, and the Easter Vigil will be on Easter Saturday.’
  ‘Don't forget to tune in to Bach's St John's Passion on Good Friday.’

Origin

Middle English from Old French, from late Latin passio(n-) (chiefly a term in Christian theology), from Latin pati ‘suffer’.

Pronunciation

passion

/ˈpaʃ(ə)n/

Word of the Day

high-minded

Learning English? Explore These English Word Lists

Learning Spanish? Check Out These Spanish Resources