apathy

noun

ap·a·thy | \ ˈa-pə-thē

Definition of apathy

1 : lack of feeling or emotion : impassiveness drug abuse leading to apathy and depression

2 : lack of interest or concern : indifference political apathy

Synonyms & Antonyms How Apathy Differs From Impassivity and Indifference The Greek Origins of Apathy More Example Sentences Learn More about apathy

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How Apathy Differs From Impassivity and Indifference

Apathy, impassivity, and indifference all denote a lack of responsiveness to something that might normally excite interest or emotion. Apathy suggests a puzzling or deplorable inertness or lack of passion, as in “the problem of continued voter apathy.” Impassivity stresses the absence of any external sign of emotion in action or facial expression, as in “teachers frustrated by the impassivity of their students.” Indifference connotes a lack of interest in or concern about something, as in “the company’s apparent indifference to the needs of its employees.”

The Greek Origins of Apathy

There's no reason to be uncaring about the origins of apathy—though there is a clue to the word's beginnings in this sentence. Apathy was borrowed into English in the late 16th century from Greek apatheia, which itself comes from the adjective apathēs, meaning "without feeling." Apathēs, in turn, was formed by combining the negating prefix a- with pathos, meaning "emotion." Incidentally, if you've guessed that pathos is the source of the identically spelled noun in English (meaning either "an element in experience or in artistic representation evoking pity or compassion" or "an emotion of sympathetic pity"), you are correct. Pathos also gave us such words as antipathy, empathy, sympathy, pathetic, and even the archaic word pathematic ("emotional").

Examples of apathy in a Sentence

That's the danger of a teeming cast of … characters: they get jumbled in the viewer's mind, and … apathy ensues. Novels can afford a rich banquet of personalities; it's what readers sign up for. But ratiocination isn't welcome in modern movies, which prefer visceral impact over intellect. — Richard Corliss, Time, 20 Oct. 2008 But short of such complete apathy, there are other neurological conditions in which the capacity for genuine emotion is compromised. One sees this in some forms of autism, in the "flat affect" of some schizophrenics. … But here, as with Harry, music can often break through, if only in a limited way or for a brief time, and release seemingly normal emotions. — Oliver Sacks, Musicophilia, 2008 According to the polls, "the American people, as opposed to some of their leaders, seek no converts to their ideology." And they are not "cultural imperialists." Maybe not. But this reserve seems grounded less in humility (60 percent of Americans consider their culture "superior to others") than in apathy. — Robert Wright, New York Times Book Review, 14 May 2006 The result could well be further inequality of political information, with avid followers of politics becoming ever more knowledgeable while the rest of the public slips deeper into political apathy. — Martin P. Wattenberg, Atlantic, October 1998 People have shown surprising apathy toward these important social problems. People have shown a surprising apathy toward these problems.

Recent Examples on the Web As the quarter wore on the defensive apathy or ineffectiveness showed itself. — Chris Hine, Star Tribune, "Undermanned Indiana hands Timberwolves 141-137 loss," 7 Apr. 2021 The same apathy toward the wellbeing of incarcerated people is being demonstrated on a much wider scale right now, during the COVID-19 pandemic. — Gabrielle A. Perry, refinery29.com, "Imprisoned People’s Lives Matter — But You Wouldn’t Know It From The COVID Vaccination Rollout," 18 Feb. 2021 In Bill’s first scene with Agent Mitchell, the filmmakers underscore the character’s political apathy. — Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, "Judas and the Black Messiah Is What Happens When Hollywood Co-opts Radical History," 11 Feb. 2021 Sociologists say that while trust in him as a president has dipped slightly, his approval rating is unlikely to fall below 60% given the broad political apathy among much of the population. — Thomas Grove, WSJ, "Navalny Movement Scraps Protests as It Digs In for Long Haul," 7 Feb. 2021 More research confirming apathy as a dementia risk factor could help in finding how best to target early dementia interventions in the future. — Ryan Prior, CNN, "Apathy could lead to a greater risk of dementia, study finds," 14 Oct. 2020 Songbird also has a depressing apathy towards the virus. — Kate Knibbs, Wired, "Can Disaster Movies Survive a Pandemic?," 25 Dec. 2020 With daily death counts soaring to record heights in recent weeks, some sociologists believe the deepening apathy and lack of outrage can be traced to who is dying. — Author: William Wan, Brittany Shammas, Anchorage Daily News, "Why Americans are numb to the staggering coronavirus death toll," 22 Dec. 2020 Now that Trump’s loss is official, the public health community has become fearful that his apathy for the ongoing pandemic will reach new heights, to deadly effect. — Lev Facher, STAT, "‘It’s going to be very, very scary’: Before Biden takes office, a precarious 10 weeks for escalating Covid-19 crisis," 7 Nov. 2020

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

History and Etymology for apathy

borrowed from Middle French & Latin; Middle French apathie, borrowed from Latin apathīa, borrowed from Greek apatheîa, noun derivative of apathḗs "not suffering, without passion or feeling, impassive," from a- a- entry 2 + -pathēs, adjective derivative of páthos "experience, misfortune, emotion" — more at pathos