unsentimental
Meaning
not influenced by or showing feelings of tenderness, sadness, or nostalgia; practical and realistic.
not excessively emotional or romantic; dealing with things in a factual and objective way.
Structure
Usage
she took an unsentimental view of the business, focusing solely on the financial data.
his unsentimental biography of the poet avoided romanticizing her troubled life.
the decision, though harsh, was praised for being clear-eyed and unsentimental.
Etymology
The word 'unsentimental' is a Modern English formation built upon the adjective 'sentimental,' which emerged in the mid-18th century from the noun 'sentiment.' 'Sentiment' itself entered English from Old French, tracing back to Latin 'sentire,' meaning "to feel." The Latin root 'sentire' is believed to derive from the Proto-Indo-European root sent-, meaning "to head for, go," which metaphorically extended to "to feel" as a mental direction or perception. The Germanic prefix 'un-' was systematically attached to create a direct negation, forming a word that logically means "not governed by feeling," perfectly capturing its modern sense of practical objectivity devoid of emotional influence.
Analysis
- un: a prefix of germanic origin (old english) meaning "not," serving a negating function. - sentimental: an adjective of latin and french origin, from the noun "sentiment." its functional role is the core lexical base meaning "governed by emotion."