indifference

indifference — noun

1. a feeling of having no particular interest in, concern for, or emotional reactio

1.nounB2
Definition

a feeling of having no particular interest in, concern for, or emotional reaction to someone or something

Example

Ayana's indifference to her roommate's feelings hurt the whole household.

indifference + to + [someone's feelings]

The manager showed complete indifference when the staff asked for safer equipment.

show + complete indifference

Common collocations
  • complete indifference
  • total indifference
  • utter indifference
  • show indifference
  • express indifference
  • display indifference
  • indifference to
  • indifference toward
  • meet with indifference
  • treat with indifference
Synonyms
  • apathy

    stronger than indifference; implies a complete absence of emotion or motivation, often in contexts where feeling is expected

  • unconcern

    milder and more specific; suggests not worrying about something that others find important

  • detachment

    implies a deliberate emotional distance or objectivity, not necessarily a lack of caring

  • disinterest

    can mean genuine lack of interest, but also carries a separate meaning of impartiality in formal contexts

Antonyms
  • concern

    active interest or worry about someone or something

  • interest

    a feeling of wanting to know more or get involved

  • compassion

    sympathetic awareness of others' suffering combined with a wish to help

Grammar Patterns

indifference + to/toward/about + noun phrase

Usage Note

Frequently modified by intensifying adjectives such as complete, total, or utter. Often used with the verbs show, express, display, or meet with to describe how a person reacts.

Common Mistakes

There is no indifference between the two phones' (meaning no difference).
There is no difference between the two phones.
'indifference' means lack of interest, not the quality of being the same or different.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All five words describe a lack of emotional engagement, but they differ in strength and nuance. Indifference is the most neutral term — it simply means not caring one way or the other. Apathy is heavier: it suggests a troubling emotional emptiness, often in situations where feeling is expected, such as public apathy toward a crisis. Unconcern is lighter and more situation-specific: a person might feel unconcerned about a minor risk without being generally apathetic. Detachment implies a deliberate choice to stay emotionally separate, which can be positive (a doctor's professional detachment) or negative (emotional detachment from a partner). Disinterest overlaps with indifference but also carries a formal meaning of impartiality — a judge's disinterest is a virtue, whereas their indifference would be a flaw. In everyday usage, indifference is the safest choice for general lack of concern.

indifference ↗apathy ↗unconcerndetachmentdisinterest

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • with complete indifference
  • an air of indifference
  • a shrug of indifference
  • treat someone with indifference

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Indifference came into English from French 'indifférence', which came from Latin 'indifferentia' meaning 'no difference'. The Latin word combined 'in-' (not) with 'differens' (differing). The original idea was that if two things seem the same to you, you have no reason to prefer one over the other — so you don't care. Over time, the meaning shifted from 'not seeing a difference' to 'not caring at all'.