Indifferent

/ɪnˈdɪf.ɹənt/ · adjective

Meaning

Ambivalent; unconcerned; uninterested, apathetic..

Definitions by Sense

1. Ambivalent; unconcerned; uninterested, apathetic.
2. Indicating or reflecting a lack of concern or care.
3. Mediocre (usually used negatively in modern usage).
4. Having no preference.
5. (dated) Unbiased, impartial, judging fairly.
6. Not making a difference; without significance or importance.
7. (mechanics) Being in the state of neutral equilibrium.
8. (obsolete) Not different; matching.

Example Sentences

He was indifferent to the proposal, since it didn’t affect him, either way.

“I must not hope to be ever situated as you are, in the midst of every dearest connexion, and therefore I cannot expect that simply growing older should make me indifferent about letters.” / “Indifferent! Oh! no—I never conceived you could become indifferent. Letters are no matter of indifference; they are generally a very positive curse.”

When you have a hundred francs in the world you are liable to the most craven panics. When you have only three francs you are quite indifferent; for three francs will feed you till tomorrow, and you cannot think further than that. You are bored, but you are not afraid.

She responded with an indifferent shrug.

Donald appeared not to see her at all, and answered her wise little remarks with curtly indifferent monosyllables […]

Then she shrugged, the mildest, most indifferent gesture he had ever seen, and smiled.

‘Wonderful, Florence,’ I said, producing the ritual phrases: ‘I don’t know what I would do without you.’ But of course I do know. I would sink into the indifferent squalor of old age.

“As a result, OCR found that the district’s pattern of inconsistent responses to reports it received of sexual harassment – infrequently responding under Title IX or not responding at all – rose to the level that the district’s response to some families’ sexual harassment reports was deliberately indifferent to students’ civil rights,” a news release from DOE reads.

Synonyms for indifferent

Antonyms for indifferent

Related Words

Word Forms

• more indifferent
• most indifferent
• indifferents

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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