indifference

[in-dif-er-uhns, -dif-ruhns]

noun

1. lack of interest or concern.

   We were shocked by their indifference toward poverty.

   Antonyms: responsiveness, eagerness

2. unimportance; little or no concern.

   Whether or not to attend the party is a matter of indifference to him.

3. the quality or condition of being indifferent.

4. mediocre quality; mediocrity.

5. Baseball.,  the absence of effort by the defense to prevent a stolen base.

   For the second time this inning, a Brewer has taken second base on indifference.

indifference

/ ɪnˈdɪfrəns, -fərəns /

noun

1. the fact or state of being indifferent; lack of care or concern

2. lack of quality; mediocrity

3. lack of importance; insignificance

4. See principle of indifference

Other Word Forms

• superindifference noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of indifference¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, variant of indifferency, from Latin indifferentia; indifferent, -ence, -ency

Synonym Study

Indifference, unconcern, listlessness, apathy, insensibility all imply lack of feeling. Indifference denotes an absence of feeling or interest; unconcern, an absence of concern or solicitude, a calm or cool indifference in the face of what might be expected to cause uneasiness or apprehension; listlessness, an absence of inclination or interest, a languid indifference to what is going on about one; apathy, a profound intellectual and emotional indifference suggestive of faculties either naturally sluggish or dulled by emotional disturbance, mental illness, or prolonged sickness; insensibility, an absence of capacity for feeling or of susceptibility to emotional influences.

Example Sentences

“This was a period in English culture before blackness acquired its fatal association with slavery,” he writes, identifying a “certain strain of indifference to color” in the thinking of the time.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

I knew in my heart that despite how deeply I felt for him, the silence, the indifference, the lack of effort — those were my answers.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

"His sentence should reflect the breadth and depth of his crimes, his indifference to the risks to his country, and the magnitude of his greed."

Read more on BBC

"The world has not given enough attention to the Darfur crisis. There is too much indifference and apathy to the massive suffering that we've witnessed there," he said.

Read more on Barron's

“Lamar had to pay the ultimate price because of their indifference and inaction.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• alienation 
• apathy 
• callousness 
• carelessness 
• disdain 
• disinterest 
• disregard 
• inattention 
• inertia 
• insensitivity www.thesaurus.com
• lack 
• negligence 
• nonchalance