Impassibility
/ˌɪmˌpæsəˈbɪlɪti/noun
The quality of being unable to feel pain, emotion, or suffering.
Did you know?In Christian theology, divine impassibility meant God could not be emotionally or physically affected in the human way—an ancient philosophical idea that made “feeling nothing” a mark of perfection, not weakness.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*peh₂-
“to suffer, endure”
Latin
Latin
pati
“to suffer, undergo, endure”
Latin
Latin
passio
“suffering, enduring; later, the Passion of Christ”
Late Latin
Latin
impassibilis
“not capable of suffering or being affected”
Old French
Old French
impassible
“unfeeling, incapable of suffering”
Middle English
English
impassibilite
“incapability of suffering or being affected”
Modern English
English
impassibility
“the state of being incapable of suffering or emotion”