Sunday, December 14, 2008

Disinterested

I often hear people say that they are disinterested in something when they mean that they find it boring. Technically, this is correct, but careful writers and speakers try to maintain the following distinction:

Disinterested in: impartial in the matter of

Uninterested in: not curious about

For example, jurors should be disinterested in -- but not uninterested in -- the outcome of the trial.

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