indifference

noun

in·​dif·​fer·​ence in-ˈdi-f(ə-)rən(t)s 

-fərn(t)s

1

: the quality, state, or fact of being indifferent

was shocked by their indifference to the issue

struggles that were treated with indifference by the government

2

a

: absence of compulsion to or toward one thing or another

observed with cool indifference

b

archaic : lack of difference or distinction between two or more things

Synonyms of indifference

• disregard

Examples of indifference in a Sentence

She was amazed that some people could watch the trial with indifference.

She watched them with a cool indifference.

Recent Examples on the Web

Literature’s loss of cultural authority is due in part to funding cuts, book bannings, and political attacks on higher education, but the overwhelming driver of its diminishment may be our own indifference. —Charlie Tyson, The Atlantic, 27 Apr. 2026

What’s interesting about Victor’s story originally, and is very present in our story, is how, poverty, race and bureaucratic indifference, not illness, determines who gets locked away. —John Hopewell, Variety, 27 Apr. 2026

But if the Russian government is resurrecting the ghosts of the Soviet past – and making life for ordinary Russians a whole lot more inconvenient – Putin himself is showing public indifference. —Nathan Hodge, CNN Money, 26 Apr. 2026

Something natural decay shares with human indifference and brutality—war, waste, and rot, literal and metaphorical. —Literary Hub, 24 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for indifference

• difference

Kids Definition

indifference

noun

in·​dif·​fer·​ence in-ˈdif-ərn(t)s 

-ˈdif-(ə-)rən(t)s

1

: lack of feeling for or against something

2

: lack of importance

a matter of indifference to them

Medical Definition

indifference

noun

in·​dif·​fer·​ence in-ˈdif-ərn(t)s, -ˈdif-(ə-)rən(t)s 

: the quality, state, or fact of being indifferent

a schizophrenic reaction accompanied by apathy and indifference