Disinterested v. uninterested. Can we have a little chat, please?

[Pocketfullofdogtreats]

They aren't the same. Disinterested means not taking sides/being neutral.
So, Jane is not interested in football. She is uninterested in it, has no interest.
Sue supports Man U, so she enjoys seeing other teams play but doesn't mind who wins - she is a disinterested observer.
The meaning of 'has an interest' might be relevant (Philippa holds shares in Unilever so has an interest in seeing them do well).

Have just read loads of posts about ILs being disinterested In their dgch and it's made me go Aargh!

Phew. Thank you.

I concur.

A High Court judge is disinterested in the murder case but is very interested.

Yes it annoys me too!

Interesting. (see what I did there? )

I knew there was a difference between uninterested and disinterested. But I would have put disinterested as having no interest in what is happening now. eg "she was displaying disinterest in the conversation over coffee."

I guess that DOES still meet the criteria of having "no personal involvement" as per the Cambridge dictionary. But i wouldn't have realised disinterested in the context of not caring who wins a specific sports event.

Learn something new every day.

Yup.

Also see unsocial, dissocial and anti-social, very different things.

I've never heard of dissocial! Will look it up. Every day is indeed a learning day.

Sometimes there's a bit of an overlap. But IMO, in the vast majority of instances they mean 'shows no interest' and should therefore use ' uninterested'.

Drives me mad!

I was taught many moons ago to think of the prefix "dis" as often meaning "difficulty with" and that would work in the case of the word disinterested.
The word means not interested or indifferent - thereby having difficulty with displaying any interest.

That would mean that being uninterested ( in your grandchildren, say) would be the same meaning as disinterested ( finding it hard to show any interest in them), which is not the case. This is my whole point - disinterested means neutral (not caring - have no 'interest' - in whether Unilever shares go up or down). With the dgch case, you're not neutral, you're just not interested - uninterested.

@Pocketfullofdogtreats - fair enough, that's your interpretation.

However, to me, uninterested is more active as in a specific lack of interest, a definite thing, whereas disinterested is when someone just isn't bothered either way, couldn't care less.

Actually, the "not interested/uninterested" meaning of disinterested is older than the "impartial" meaning of the word going back as far as 1600 or so. It shifted sometime later, and grammarians began to insist on a distinction between the two. The meaning is now shifting back. "Dis" and "un" mean essentially the same thing. It's different meanings of "interest" that keep the distinction alive.

If you are a councillor and you are at a council meeting, you are expected to declare an interest if a topic comes up which involves you in some way. You might be required to keep quiet or to leave the room while that item is discussed and/or voted on. What is the opposite meaning? I think disinterested rather than uninterested.

Yes, I think so too.

"Disinterested" means impartial.
As in "A disinterested observer."

Your last sentence is relevant, so we need to distinguish between the two. Un for the not being interested in it and Dis for not having an interest. 😆English, eh?!

Doesn't Austen use the phrase 'disinterested love' - ie not valuing a potential partner mainly for his or her £10,000 a year or large estate?
It's a nice distinction.

This gave me a truly awful afternoon about a year ago. And I had forgotten.

I think you mean ‘may we have a chat OP’. 😀

I'm sorry OP but I suspect that this particular grammatical ship has sailed.

On MN? Yes, sadly you may be right. But in my line of work (editing) there are style guides (diktats!) and I doubt very much that you would see the words used interchangeably in a UK national newspaper.

Yes. 'Impartial' is a better word than 'neutral', actually.

In legal parlance, the terms "disinterested" and "uninterested" are frequently conflated, leading to potential misinterpretations that could impact legal reasoning and the application of justice. This brief aims to elucidate the nuanced distinctions between these two terms, which, while sounding similar, bear significant implications in legal contexts.
Definitions and Contextual Usage

1. Disinterested: The term "disinterested" refers to a state of impartiality, indicating an absence of personal stake or bias in a particular matter. A disinterested party is one who does not have any financial, personal, or emotional interest in the outcome of a case or transaction. In legal practice, this term is often employed in contexts such as fiduciary duties, where a disinterested individual is required to act in the best interest of another party without self-interest. For example, a disinterested judge must adjudicate without favoritism, ensuring fairness in the legal process.
2. Uninterested: Conversely, "uninterested" denotes a lack of interest or concern regarding a particular subject or situation. An uninterested party is one who is indifferent to the outcome, lacking the motivation to engage or invest in the matter at hand. In legal contexts, an uninterested witness might be someone who has no stake in the proceedings and, therefore, does not actively participate or express opinions relevant to the case.