Manvir SinghJazmine UlloaJohnny Cash, quoted in Rolling Stone
Did you know?
The Greek Origins of Apathy
Once more without feeling! While its siblings antipathy, sympathy, and empathy refer to often strong emotions, whether tender or terrible, apathy is unconcerned with all that. Whether one is feeling blasé, indifferent, or—to use a more recent coinage—meh, apathy is the perfect word for such a lack of passion. At the root of apathy and its kin is páthos, a Greek word meaning “experience, misfortune, or emotion,” which led first to the adjective apathḗs (“not suffering, without passion or feeling, impassive”) and then the noun apatheîa before passing through Latin and Middle French on its way to English. The prefix a- in both means “without.” The other aforementioned páthos descendants are, of course, supplied with their own prefixes that give clues to their respective meanings: anti- (“opposite”), sym- (“at the same time”), and em- (“in” or “within”).
Did you know?
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.”
Examples of apathy in a Sentence
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.
Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 21 Oct. 2025
Fan apathy is showing up in the attendance figures at the Rose Bowl, and the athletic department’s financial problems have been piling up — the Bruins have been operating at a cumulative deficit of over $200 million over the last five years.
—Chris Vannini, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2025
In Pullman’s world, evil is overcome by people choosing truth over lies, action over apathy and empathy over hate, every single day.
—Literary Hub, 17 Oct. 2025
The resulting apathy among fans, however, has yet to affect the players themselves — at least that’s what was said publicly.
—Miami Herald, 6 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for apathy
Cite this Entry
“Apathy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/apathy. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
apathy
noun
Share