apathetic

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adjective ap·a·thet·ic \ˌa-pə-ˈthe-tik\

Definition of apathetic

1 : having or showing little or no feeling or emotion : spiritless She was listless, apathetic, calm with the calmness of a woman who knows she can suffer no further. — Frank Norris
2 : having little or no interest or concern : indifferent apathetic voters apathetic underachievers

apathetically

play \-ti-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

See apathetic defined for English-language learners

See apathetic defined for kids

Examples of apathetic in a Sentence

But contrary to popular belief, not all jocks are as apathetic as they are athletic. One such progressive player is Toni Smith, a college basketball player who turned her back on Old Glory every time the national anthem was played before her games last season. In a written statement, she cited America's systemic inequalities as her reason for not saluting the flag. —Complex, June/July 2003
The disorder is sometimes inherited via a defective gene from one parent, and patients are usually spared signs of the disorder until they reach their fifties. Because the brain-cell loss occurs in parts of the brain that help regulate social behavior, personality changes are the most common manifestations of the illness. Patients tend to become either uninhibited or apathetic. —Bruce L. Miller, Discover, January 1998
But in cities such as Boston, Cincinnati, Oakland, San Francisco, and Seattle, reformers are trying to recharge an apathetic electorate by taking aim at the very process of voting itself. —Wilma Rule et al., Ms., September/October 1996
Young people are becoming increasingly apathetic.
the apathetic attitude of the public
Surprisingly, most Americans are apathetic toward this important issue.

Recent Examples of apathetic from the Web

PM, $10 Fri 6/30: Coco Picard discusses her new graphic novel Chronicles of Fortune, the story of a brilliant but apathetic superhero.

— emily wasielewski, Chicago Reader, "Do This / Arts A David Bowie dance opera, Coco Picard chats, the Sugar Ball, and more things to do this weekend," 30 June 2017
Luckily, most of my peers were apathetic, but there were a few peers and teachers who had a problem with me.

— jennifer gerson uffalussy, Allure, "LGBTQ+ Folks Share Stories of Their First Pride Celebrations," 23 June 2017
Which is not to suggest the average Californian is ignorant or apathetic.

— mark z. barabak, latimes.com, "Big stakes, little focus. So who's running for California governor, anyway?," 15 June 2017
What makes the recent protests -- which first began in March -- significant is their reach, engulfing almost 100 cities across the country and including the participation of Russian youth, once thought to be politically apathetic.

— amy mackinnon, CNN, "Why young people are flocking to Russian protests," 14 June 2017
But extremely low voter turnout suggested that French voters feel apathetic or perhaps exhausted with politics.

— j. weston phippen, The Atlantic, "A Majority for France's Macron," 11 June 2017
Also, a lot of folks are apathetic because there’s been so little support for their particular needs and issues that affect them.

— suzanne gamboa, NBC News, "Latino, Asian-American Square Off in California’s U.S. House Race," 6 June 2017
Americans are notoriously apathetic about climate change.

— emily atkin, New Republic, "Leaving the Paris Agreement Won’t Doom the Planet," 31 May 2017
But eventually a dark depression steals in, consuming joy, leaving me feeling apathetic, limp, hopeless.

— david leite, Fox News, "Notes on a 'Banana': How I learned to cope with manic depression," 31 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'apathetic.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Discover If You're apathetic

Apathy, or lack of emotion, is central to Albert Camus's famous novel The Stranger, in which the main character's indifference toward almost everything, including his mother's death, results in his imprisonment. We feel little sympathy for him, and may even feel antipathy, or dislike. The American voter is often called apathetic; of all the industrial democracies, only in America does half the adult population fail to vote in major elections. As you can see, apathetic isn't the opposite of pathetic, even though the a- that it begins with means "not" or "without".

Origin and Etymology of apathetic

see apathy

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1744

See Words from the same year

Synonym Discussion of apathetic

impassive, stoic, phlegmatic, apathetic, stolid mean unresponsive to something that might normally excite interest or emotion. impassive stresses the absence of any external sign of emotion in action or facial expression. met the news with an impassive look stoic implies an apparent indifference to pleasure or especially to pain often as a matter of principle or self-discipline. was resolutely stoic even in adversity phlegmatic implies a temperament or constitution hard to arouse. a phlegmatic man unmoved by tears apathetic may imply a puzzling or deplorable indifference or inertness. charitable appeals met an apathetic response stolid implies a habitual absence of interest, responsiveness, or curiosity. stolid workers wedded to routine