Definition: having strong feelings or beliefs (about something).

Extrapolating a bit, I’d suggest that if you’re passionate about something, it’s something that you find worth in; something that you like doing.

While there are other definitions for passionate, these days, it seems to be mainly used in this context. People might speak of being passionate about art, music, or cooking… or ‘delivering cost-effective digital solutions that maximise customer benefit…’

Mainly on their CVs or LinkedIn profiles…

Really?

Are you really passionate about ‘integrated business models that deliver synergistic outcomes’?

If you won $10,000,000, would you continue working to ‘leverage efficiencies in financial reporting systems’?

Passionate is from the same Latin root—patī—as passion. However, it was used to mean ‘suffer, submit’, as in ‘The Passion of Christ’.

I’m just going to leave that out there…