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INDIFFERENCE
Pronunciation (US): | (GB): |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The trait of lacking enthusiasm for or interest in things generally
Synonyms:
apathy; indifference; numbness; spiritlessness
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("indifference" is a kind of...):
passiveness; passivity (the trait of remaining inactive; a lack of initiative)
Derivation:
indifferent (marked by a lack of interest)
Sense 2
Meaning:
The trait of remaining calm and seeming not to care; a casual lack of concern
Synonyms:
indifference; nonchalance; unconcern
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("indifference" is a kind of...):
carefreeness (the trait of being without worry or responsibility)
Derivation:
indifferent (marked by no especial liking or dislike or preference for one thing over another)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Apathy demonstrated by an absence of emotional reactions
Synonyms:
emotionlessness; impassiveness; impassivity; indifference; phlegm; stolidity; unemotionality
Classified under:
Nouns denoting feelings and emotions
Hypernyms ("indifference" is a kind of...):
apathy (an absence of emotion or enthusiasm)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting feelings and emotions
Hypernyms ("indifference" is a kind of...):
unconcern (a feeling of lack of concern)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "indifference"):
aloofness; distance (indifference by personal withdrawal)
detachment; withdrawal (avoiding emotional involvement)
Derivation:
indifferent (showing no care or concern in attitude or action)
indifferent ((often followed by 'to') lacking importance; not mattering one way or the other)
indifferent (characterized by a lack of partiality)
indifferent (marked by no especial liking or dislike or preference for one thing over another)
Context examples:
“Why, there's a pretty wide separation between them and us,” said Steerforth, with indifference.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
I would have you to understand that it is a matter of perfect indifference to me, and I refuse to entertain the most remote sense of personal obligation.
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) Frequency of the apathy/indifference.
(NPI - Apathy/Indifference Frequency, NCI Thesaurus)
Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) Severity of the apathy/indifference.
(NPI - Apathy/Indifference Severity, NCI Thesaurus)
Numerical result translated into indifference, antagonism, synergism, or additive.
(Antimicrobial Combination Testing Method, NCI Thesaurus)
I cannot tell whether I were more pleased or mortified to observe, in those solitary walks, that the smaller birds did not appear to be at all afraid of me, but would hop about within a yard’s distance, looking for worms and other food, with as much indifference and security as if no creature at all were near them.
(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)
It is used in conjunction with an opioid analgesic such as FENTANYL to maintain the patient in a calm state of neuroleptanalgesia with indifference to surroundings but still able to cooperate with the surgeon.
(Droperidol, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)
Little observation there was necessary to tell him that indifference was the most favourable state they could be in.
(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)
No longer could he be suspected of indifference for a play; his notice was never withdrawn from the stage during two whole scenes.
(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)
The child's situation put the visit entirely aside; but she could not hear of her escape with indifference, even in the midst of the serious anxiety which they afterwards felt on his account.
(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)