indifference

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

See synonyms for indifference on Thesaurus.com

noun

lack of interest or concern: We were shocked by their indifference toward poverty.
unimportance; little or no concern: Whether or not to attend the party is a matter of indifference to him.

the quality or condition of being indifferent.
mediocre quality; mediocrity.
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.

Origin of indifference

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

synonym study For indifference

1. 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.

Opposites for indifference

1	eagerness, responsiveness

See antonyms for indifference on Thesaurus.com

Other words from indifference

su·per·in·dif·fer·ence, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use indifference in a sentence

Tolerance, according to the old lady's code, was the fruit of charity—Eva's tolerance was the fruit of indifferences.
The Rubicon | E. F. Benson
So from month to month she went on with them all, through a thousand ups and downs and a thousand pangs and indifferences.
In the Cage | Henry James
Thoughts only, not dislikes, not indifferences, sundered them.
The Shadow of Life | Anne Douglas Sedgwick
They did not even settle down to what a witty Frenchman calls the "politeness of two indifferences."
The Women of the French Salons | Amelia Gere Mason
I spoke with him from time to time about his absences and his indifferences, all to no avail.
Warren Commission (11 of 26): Hearings Vol. XI (of 15) | The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy

British Dictionary definitions for indifference

indifference

/ (ɪnˈdɪfrəns, -fərəns) /

noun

the fact or state of being indifferent; lack of care or concern
lack of quality; mediocrity

lack of importance; insignificance
See principle of indifference

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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