indifference

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See also: indifférence

English

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Etymology

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From Middle French indifférence, from Late Latin indifferentia.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ɪnˈdɪf.ɹəns/, /ɪnˈdɪf.ə.ɹəns/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Hyphenation: in‧dif‧fer‧ence

Noun

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indifference (countable and uncountable, plural indifferences)

  1. The state of being indifferent.
    Synonym: unconcern
    • 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 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."
  2. Unbiased impartiality.
  3. Unemotional apathy.
    His daughter's indifference towards the sexist group made him wonder if she was even human.
  4. A lack of enthusiasm.
  5. Unconcerned nonchalance.
  6. (philosophy) Self-identity defined through the negation of difference, non-difference.
    • 1801, FWJ Schelling, The Philosophical Rupture between Fichte and Schelling, page 145:
      "I call reason absolute reason, or reason insofar as it is conceived as the total indifference of the subjective and objective."

Derived terms

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Translations

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