What does impersonality mean?
Impersonality is the quality of being impersonal: the degree to which a person, institution, or process operates without showing personal bias, emotional involvement, or individual favoritism. In this sense, it can describe a professional assessment, an anonymous application process, or an organizational decision that treats people according to consistent rules. The term may be approving, suggesting fairness and objectivity, or critical, suggesting that a human situation has been made cold and impersonal. A less common sense refers to the practice of assuming another person’s identity, essentially the state or result of impersonation. Because the noun is uncommon in everyday English, it is most often used in formal discussion of law, administration, organizations, art, and interpersonal distance. It is related to, but not identical with, anonymity: impersonality concerns the absence of personal or emotionally invested treatment, while anonymity concerns the concealment or unknownness of a person’s identity. In either sense, the word points to the tension between treating people impartially and recognizing that decisions about people are never entirely detached from human relationships.
nounThe quality of being impersonal, especially the absence of personal bias, emotional involvement, or favoritism; a detached, objective manner. In a less common sense, it refers to the practice or condition of assuming another person’s identity.
- The quality or state of being impersonal, especially the absence of personal bias, emotional involvement, or favoritism.
- The practice or condition of assuming another person’s identity.
"The committee sought to preserve a sense of impersonality in its assessment of every applicant."
"The anonymity of the selection process introduced a degree of impersonality that applicants considered fair."
"The investigation uncovered several cases of impersonality involving stolen credentials and fraudulent accounts."
The plural is grammatically regular but rarely used, especially in the modern sense of impersonal treatment.
"The review described the impersonalities of the online marketplace and the difficulty of holding anonymous users accountable."
Impersonality captures a modern paradox: treating people impartially can protect fairness, yet make them feel unseen.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does impersonality come from?
Impersonality is a derivative of impersonal, formed with the suffix -ity. Impersonal traces to Latin impersonalis, a derivative of persona, meaning “mask” and, by extension, “person” or “character”; the same root underlies personal, personality, impersonate, and personify. The less common sense involving assumed identity follows from the relationship between impersonal and impersonate.
How impersonality is actually used
Impersonality is uncommon in everyday English and is mainly used in formal discussion. It can be approving, indicating objectivity and impartiality, or critical, indicating emotional coldness and a lack of personal concern.
Easily confused with impersonality
Impersonality is usually the quality of being impersonal, whereas impersonation is the act of pretending to be someone else.