Indifference Meaning
/ɪnˈdɪf.ɹəns/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe state of being indifferent.
nounUnbiased impartiality.
Sentence Examples
It is a matter of indifference to him.
These problems have arisen as a result of indifference.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
His ____ towards the crying child showed that he did not care at all.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
His cold ____ toward the suffering of others made him very unpopular among his classmates.
Word Origin & History
From Middle French indifférence, from Late Latin indifferentia. By surface analysis, in- + difference.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
""I do not care for them; I would not have them now," cried Lady Penrhyn; "it is only your affection I care for. Do not suppose, for a moment, that I wish for the tables when you do not: oh, no! my only concern was for your indifference. But I am content if you tell me I was mistaken.""
— 1838 (date written), L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter IX, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], published 1842, →OCLC, page 115:
"I wish the consequences of this moment for young women punctured the apparent indifference of so many men and boys I saw that day."
— 2024 November 16, Naomi Beinart, “I’m 16. On Nov. 6 the Girls Cried, and the Boys Played Minecraft.”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 19 Nov 2024:
"I liked the man for his own sake, and even had he promised to turn out a celebrity it would have had no weight with me. I look upon notoriety with the same indifference as on the buttons on a man's shirt-front, or the crest on his note-paper."
— 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter I, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
""I call reason absolute reason, or reason insofar as it is conceived as the total indifference of the subjective and objective.""
— 1801, FWJ Schelling, The Philosophical Rupture between Fichte and Schelling, page 145:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
His ____ towards the crying child showed that he did not care at all.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
His cold ____ toward the suffering of others made him very unpopular among his classmates.