indifference

UK: /ɪnˈdɪfrəns/

US: /ɪnˈdɪfərəns/

US: (in dif′ər əns, -dif′rəns)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

in•dif•fer•ence /ɪnˈdɪfərəns/   n. [uncountable]

1. lack of interest or concern:
   shocked by the indifference shown toward the poor.
2. unimportance:
   a matter of indifference to me.

See -fer-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

in•dif•fer•ence  (in dif′ər əns, -dif′rəns), n. 

1. lack of interest or concern:
   We were shocked by their indifference toward poverty.
2. unimportance;
   little or no concern:
   Whether or not to attend the party is a matter of indifference to him.
3. the quality or condition of being indifferent.
4. mediocre quality;
   mediocrity.

• Latin indifferentia. See indifferent, -ence, -ency
• late Middle English, variant of indifferency 1400–50

Synonyms

• 1. Indifference, unconcern, listlessness, apathy, insensibility all imply lack of feeling.
  Indifference denotes an absence of feeling or interest; unconcern, an absence of concern or solicitude, a calm or cool indifference in the face of what might be expected to cause uneasiness or apprehension; listlessness, an absence of inclination or interest, a languid indifference to what is going on about one; apathy, a profound intellectual and emotional indifference suggestive of faculties either naturally sluggish or dulled by emotional disturbance, mental illness, or prolonged sickness; insensibility, an absence of capacity for feeling or of susceptibility to emotional influences.

Antonyms

• 1. eagerness, responsiveness.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

indifference / ɪnˈdɪfrəns -fərəns/ noun

1. the fact or state of being indifferent; lack of care or concern
2. lack of quality; mediocrity
3. lack of importance; insignificance