apathetic

apathetic — adjective

1. feeling so bored or hopeless about a situation that you do not care what happens

1.adjectiveC1
Definition

feeling so bored or hopeless about a situation that you do not care what happens and refuse to do anything about it, even when the situation matters.

Example

Many young voters in the town felt apathetic about the upcoming election.

apathetic about + noun (typical preposition pattern)

Mr. Lin grew frustrated when his students stayed apathetic during the climate debate.

Common collocations
  • apathetic voters
  • apathetic students
  • an apathetic public
  • apathetic response
  • apathetic shrug
  • remain apathetic
  • grow apathetic
Synonyms
  • indifferent

    neutral; simply not caring, without the sense of low energy

  • uninterested

    milder; just lacks curiosity, no judgement of laziness

  • listless

    focuses on physical low energy rather than lack of concern

  • unconcerned

    stresses absence of worry, often about a specific issue

Antonyms
  • passionate

    strong positive feeling and drive to act

  • engaged

    actively involved and paying attention

  • enthusiastic

    showing visible excitement and willingness

Grammar Patterns

apathetic about + noun/-ing

apathetic toward + noun

Usage Note

Often describes a group rather than a single person (apathetic voters, apathetic students, an apathetic public). The preposition is usually 'about' for issues and 'toward(s)' for people or causes.

Common Mistakes

She is apathetic with politics.
She is apathetic about politics.
use 'about' (or 'toward(s)'), not 'with'.
The crowd was apathetic to cheer.
The crowd was too apathetic to cheer.
'apathetic' needs 'too' before a 'to + verb' result clause.

Word family

  • apathy
    nounC1
  • apathetically
    adverbC2
  • pathos
    nounC2
  • pathetic
    adjectiveB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All four words describe a lack of interest, but they differ in tone and what they imply. 'Apathetic' is the strongest and most negative: it suggests someone has given up and refuses to act, often about something they should care about (apathetic voters, apathetic students). 'Indifferent' is more neutral — the person simply has no preference and is not judged for it ('She was indifferent to the choice of restaurant.'). 'Uninterested' just means a topic does not catch someone's attention ('The kids were uninterested in the museum tour.'). 'Listless' shifts the focus to physical or emotional low energy, often after illness or sadness ('After the flu, Anaya felt listless all afternoon.'). Use 'apathetic' when criticising a failure to engage with something important.

apathetic ↗indifferent ↗uninterestedlistless

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

  • completely apathetic
  • totally apathetic
  • increasingly apathetic
  • largely apathetic

Phrases

  • become apathetic
  • grow apathetic
  • remain apathetic
  • an apathetic generation

Prepositions

  • apathetic about
  • apathetic toward
  • apathetic towards

Etymology

GreekFrenchEnglish

Borrowed in the early 1700s from French 'apathique' and ultimately from Greek 'apathēs', meaning 'without feeling'. The Greek roots are 'a-' ('not, without') and 'pathos' ('feeling, suffering') — the same 'pathos' that gives us 'sympathy' and 'pathetic'. Originally a philosophical term tied to Stoic ideals of calm freedom from emotion, 'apathetic' shifted in everyday English to a more critical sense: not just calm, but unwilling to care or act.