✅ Intense describes someone who is strong-minded about things, especially in combination with feeling strong emotions or acting in ways that seem extreme in comparison to other people (She was an intense athlete, but that’s how she made it to the Olympics).
✅ Passionate describes someone who is largely ruled by their emotions or who experiences particularly strong emotions, either as a character trait or relating to a particular thing or cause (He was a very passionate speaker; a passionate defender of deep dish pizza).
✅ Intense and passionate can both be used to describe strong feelings, not just the people who experience them (intense joy; passionate anger).
✅ When describing a person, passionate is a more positive word and intense can be a more negative word.
Write about a passionate singer with the help of Grammar Coach.
✅ Careless describes someone who doesn’t pay proper attention to what they’re doing, especially when that leads them to make mistakes (a careless researcher).
✅ Lackadaisical describes someone who is lazy or disinterested (a lackadaisical employee).
✅ Both careless and lackadaisical describe someone who doesn’t do something properly and therefore can make mistakes, or something that shows evidence of those mistakes (careless writing; a lackadaisical attempt at organizing).
✅ Careless emphasizes not paying enough attention to what you’re doing, whereas lackadaisical emphasizes not putting in enough effort.
Don’t be lackadaisical—take a look at these synonyms!
✅ Compassionate and benevolent both describe people who want to help others (a compassionate and caring friend; a benevolent and well-loved leader).
✅ Compassionate emphasizes wanting to help others because of a sympathy for their suffering or misfortune (He was too compassionate for his own good).
✅ Benevolent emphasizes wanting to help other people out of a sense of goodwill, or a desire to be kind (The CEO became unusually benevolent after a Christmas-time haunting).
Write about a benevolent aunt with the help of Grammar Coach.