Meaning & use
indifference
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Meaning
noununcountable
A lack of interest, concern, or sympathy toward someone or something.
Grammar: Uncountable; no plural. Use 'indifference to/toward' before the person or thing.
Patterns
- indifference to something
- indifference toward someone
- with indifference
- show indifference
His indifference to the suffering of others shocked everyone.
She looked at the painting with complete indifference.
The manager's indifference toward the staff's complaints made things worse.
Common combinations
- complete indifference
- He showed complete indifference to the results.
- indifference to
- Her indifference to criticism surprised her friends.
- indifference toward
- His indifference toward politics is well known.
- with indifference
- She accepted the news with indifference.
- show indifference
- The company showed indifference to customer complaints.
Synonyms and how they differ
- apathy
- Apathy is a stronger, more general lack of interest or emotion, often over a long period; indifference can be a temporary or specific lack of concern.
- unconcern
- Unconcern is close but slightly more formal and often suggests freedom from worry rather than simply not caring.
- disinterest
- Disinterest can mean lack of interest, but it also often means impartiality; indifference never means impartiality.
Opposites
Word family
- indifferent adjective
- Feeling no interest or concern; not caring.
- indifferently adverb
- In a way that shows no interest or concern.
Commonly confused: indifference or indifference vs. dislike?
indifference vs indifference vs. dislike
Indifference means you do not care either way; dislike means you have a negative feeling. If you dislike something, you are not indifferent to it.
Practice
The teacher was worried by the students' ______ to the new project.
Choose one answer.
The noun 'indifference' is needed after 'the students'' and before 'to'. 'Indifferent' is an adjective and would need a noun; 'indifferently' is an adverb; 'indifferences' is not a standard plural.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “indifference”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.