Meaning & use
passions
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“passions” is a form of “passion”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
nounplural
Strong interests or hobbies that someone loves and spends a lot of time and energy on.
Grammar: Plural of passion. Used with a possessive: her passions include music and travel.
Patterns
- follow your passions
- a passion for something
Cooking and hiking are two of her great passions.
He turned one of his passions into a career in photography.
Schools should help students discover their passions.
nounpluralliterary
Strong feelings such as anger, love or excitement that are hard to control.
Grammar: Often appears with run high or in the phrase aroused passions: passions ran high at the meeting.
Patterns
- passions run high
- arouse passions
Passions ran high at the football match, and the police were called.
The debate stirred deep passions in the town.
The film explores the passions that tear a family apart.
nounpluralliterary
Feelings of romantic or physical love and desire.
Grammar: Used in the plural in a literary way: young passions. In ordinary speech, passion is more common in the singular.
Patterns
- a story of passions
The novel follows the passions of two young lovers.
Their youthful passions faded as years went by.
Word forms
| singular | passion |
|---|
Common combinations
- follow your passions
- Advisors often tell students to follow their passions.
- passions run high
- Passions ran high before the vote.
- inflame passions
- The speech was meant to inflame passions among the crowd.
- calm the passions
- The mediator tried to calm the passions on both sides.
- pursue your passions
- She quit her job to pursue her passions full-time.
- strong passions
- The poet wrote about strong passions and loss.
Synonyms and how they differ
- enthusiasms
- Enthusiasms are lively interests that may be short-lived, while passions are deeper and last longer.
- interests
- Interests is a general word and is milder than passions.
- emotions
- Emotions means feelings of any kind, whereas passions are strong and intense.
- obsessions
- Obsessions suggests an unhealthy fixation, which is more negative than passions.
Opposites
Word family
- passion noun
- a strong feeling, love or enthusiasm
- passionate adjective
- showing or feeling strong emotion
- passionately adverb
- in a way that shows deep feeling
- dispassionate adjective
- calm and not influenced by emotion
- compassion noun
- sympathy for the suffering of others
Commonly confused: passions or passion? passions or compassion?
passions vs passion
Passion is the singular form, usually used for strong emotion in general, while passions refers to several interests or feelings.
passions vs compassion
Compassion means caring about others' suffering, and it is not the same as strong feeling or enthusiasm.
Practice
Which sentence uses passions in the sense of strong interests?
Choose one answer.
Painting and gardening are things she loves doing, which are her passions as interests. The other sentences describe strong emotions.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “passions”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.