indifference

C2+ Topic:Emotions & Feelings

US /ɪnˈdɪfərəns/ UK /ɪnˈdɪfrəns/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
lack of interest, concern, or sympathy

Their indifference to the plan was more wounding than open scorn.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · lack of interest, concern,... apathy unconcern detachment disinterest aloofness nonchalance

Opposites

interest concern enthusiasm sympathy

Word family

Related forms indifferent indifferently difference differ

Etymology

From Latin indifferentia ('want of difference'), from indifferens, from in- ('not') + differens ('differing'), from differre ('to set apart'), from dis- ('apart') + ferre ('to carry').

differre Latin ferre Middle English *bʰer- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Emotions & Feelings Word Formation & Derivatives

# indifference

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** ɪnˈdɪfərəns
**IPA (UK):** ɪnˈdɪfrəns

## Meanings
1. lack of interest, concern, or sympathy

## Examples
- Their indifference to the plan was more wounding than open scorn.

## Synonyms
- apathy
- unconcern
- detachment
- disinterest
- aloofness
- nonchalance

## Antonyms
- interest
- concern
- enthusiasm
- sympathy

## Related Forms
- indifferent
- indifferently
- difference
- differ

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: differre
- Root: ferre
- Root: *bʰer-

## Etymology
From Latin indifferentia ('want of difference'), from indifferens, from in- ('not') + differens ('differing'), from differre ('to set apart'), from dis- ('apart') + ferre ('to carry').

## AI Etymology
indifference comes from Latin indifferentia ('want of difference'), from indifferens, from in- ('not') + differens ('differing'), from differre ('to set apart'), from dis- ('apart') + ferre ('to carry'). Morphologically, the prefixed shape matters: the initial element belongs to the recorded formation and helps explain the modern form's surface analysis. In present English, the noun sense is "lack of interest, concern, or sympathy", so the historical development ends in a clearly identifiable modern dictionary use. The same base also appears in related forms such as indifferent, indifferently, difference, and differ. Its semantic neighborhood includes apathy, unconcern, detachment, and disinterest, which helps locate the modern sense without adding a separate etymological claim. The named historical forms include Latin differre, Latin ferre, and Proto-Indo-European *bʰer-.

## Topics
- Emotions & Feelings
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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