Synonyms of passion

passion

noun

ˈpa-shən 

1

as in enthusiasm

depth of feeling

your passion for your cause is admirable, but you still can't insult people who disagree with you

Synonyms & Similar Words

• enthusiasm
• intensity
• emotion
• intenseness
• warmth
• passionateness
• fervor
• zeal
• violence
• fervency
• excitement
• fire
• heat
• vehemence
• ardor
• ardency
• tenderness
• white heat
• compassion
• fervidness
• responsiveness
• sentimentality
• eagerness
• obsession
• zest
• earnestness
• sympathy
• emotionality
• infatuation
• gusto
• emotionalism
• cathexis
• histrionics
• fanaticism
• sentiment
• melodrama
• mawkishness
• fever
• mania
• sappiness
• keenness
• hot-bloodedness
• torridity
• torridness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• insensitivity
• insensibility
• reticence
• composure
• indifference
• impassivity
• impassiveness
• calmness
• insensitiveness
• dryness
• reserve
• aloofness
• apathy
• taciturnity
• phlegm
• stoicism
• insensibleness
• stoniness
• unconcern
• stiffness
• collectedness
• reservedness
• coolness
• coldness
• detachedness
• frigidity
• chilliness
• woodenness
• frigidness

2

as in love

a feeling of strong or constant regard for and dedication to someone

married at the age of 18, they share a passion that has lasted for over half a century

Synonyms & Similar Words

• love
• affection
• devotion
• enthusiasm
• respect
• fondness
• desire
• longing
• attachment
• appreciation
• devotedness
• zeal
• fervor
• adoration
• loyalty
• infatuation
• yearning
• liking
• eagerness
• taste
• craving
• preference
• lust
• regard
• relish
• appetite
• ardor
• crush
• partiality
• like
• worship
• esteem
• fidelity
• allegiance
• faithfulness
• fancy
• idolatry
• steadfastness
• favor
• estimation
• adulation
• fealty
• deification
• idolization

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• hatred
• hate
• hostility
• loathing
• animosity
• rancor
• antagonism
• enmity
• dislike
• abomination
• aversion
• allergy
• antipathy
• disgust
• revulsion
• repulsion
• repugnance
• abhorrence
• disfavor
• misanthropy

3

as in crush

a strong but often short-lived liking for another person

her passion passed when she got to know him

Synonyms & Similar Words

• crush
• infatuation
• obsession
• love
• fixation
• mash
• devotion
• affection
• fondness
• rage
• vogue
• craze
• fad

4

as in desire

a strong wish for something

a passion to become a doctor

Synonyms & Similar Words

• desire
• longing
• craving
• thirst
• urge
• hunger
• appetite
• yearning
• lust
• zeal
• taste
• compulsion
• yen
• love
• pining
• wish
• drive
• itch
• hankering
• appetency
• thirstiness
• jones
• impulse
• eagerness
• liking
• obsession
• impatience
• requirement
• impulsion
• need
• letch
• necessity
• will
• weakness
• greed
• avarice
• cupidity
• greediness
• acquisitiveness
• rapacity
• avidity
• covetousness
• mania
• want
• avariciousness
• rapaciousness
• cacoëthes

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• hatred
• disgust
• distaste
• dislike
• revulsion
• aversion
• nausea
• loathing
• repulsion
• allergy
• repugnance
• abhorrence
• disinclination
• indifference
• abomination
• disfavor
• apathy
• disliking
• averseness
• nonchalance
• unconcern
• insouciance

5

as in emotion

a subjective response to a person, thing, or situation

people are sometimes slaves to their own passions

Synonyms & Similar Words

• emotion
• chord
• feeling
• sense
• sentiment
• attitude
• perception
• impression
• conviction
• sensation
• belief
• opinion
• perspective
• responsiveness
• mind
• viewpoint
• sensitivity
• standpoint
• judgment
• angle
• outlook
• sensibility
• view
• verdict
• persuasion
• sensitiveness
• notion
• receptivity
• receptiveness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• insensitivity
• insensitiveness
• unfeelingness

6

as in feeling

passions plural general emotional condition

people who are swayed by their passions and not by reason

Synonyms & Similar Words

• feeling
• spirit
• mood
• sensibilities
• humor
• mode
• temper
• frame
• heartstrings
• cheer

7

as in lust

intense sexual desire

their relationship began with passion but a deep love quickly grew between them

Synonyms & Similar Words

• lust
• lustfulness
• eros
• ardor
• eroticism
• concupiscence
• horniness
• itch
• erotomania
• nymphomania
• satyriasis
• lewdness
• lasciviousness
• licentiousness
• wantonness
• salaciousness
• randiness
• libidinousness
• lickerishness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• frigidity

8

as in lustfulness

sexual appetite

the kind of pent-up passion that comes from having spent the winter in remote isolation

Synonyms & Similar Words

• desire
• lust
• lustfulness
• eroticism
• salaciousness
• concupiscence
• hots
• horniness
• itch
• heat
• lech
• libidinousness
• libido
• lustihood
• letch
• ardor
• rut
• erotomania
• lechery
• hypersexuality
• nymphomania
• satyriasis
• venery
• lecherousness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• abstinence
• chastity
• celibacy
• frigidity
• frigidness

Synonym Chooser

How is the word passion distinct from other similar nouns?

Some common synonyms of passion are affection, emotion, feeling, and sentiment. While all these words mean "a subjective response to a person, thing, or situation," passion suggests a very powerful or controlling emotion.

revenge became his ruling passion

When is it sensible to use affection instead of passion?

The synonyms affection and passion are sometimes interchangeable, but affection applies to feelings that are also inclinations or likings.

a memoir of childhood filled with affection for her family

How are the words emotion and feeling related as synonyms of passion?

Emotion carries a strong implication of excitement or agitation but, like feeling, encompasses both positive and negative responses.

the drama portrays the emotions of adolescence

When would feeling be a good substitute for passion?

The meanings of feeling and passion largely overlap; however, feeling denotes any partly mental, partly physical response marked by pleasure, pain, attraction, or repulsion; it may suggest the mere existence of a response but imply nothing about the nature or intensity of it.

the feelings that once moved me are gone

When can sentiment be used instead of passion?

The words sentiment and passion are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, sentiment often implies an emotion inspired by an idea.

her feminist sentiments are well known

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of passion

Roberto said that what started as a simple therapeutic tool has turned into his passion. —Rina Nakano, CBS News, 25 Apr. 2026

Over the decades, the watch has quickly become synonymous with Formula 1, a sport at the cornerstone of precision and passion intensity. —Fairchild Studio, Footwear News, 25 Apr. 2026

The situation is also an opportunity for NASA to resume the kind of risk-taking that has been lacking to shake the agency out of a post-space-shuttle lethargy and to reignite passions for reaching a stretch goal under deadline pressure. —Thomas Black, Mercury News, 24 Apr. 2026

The restoration took five years, a passion project that was interrupted by the pandemic. —Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 24 Apr. 2026