Word.ws English Dictionary

indifferent

Syllables: in·dif·fer·ent/ɪnˈdɪf.ɹənt/

indifferent adjective: ambivalent; unconcerned; uninterested, apathetic.

Adjective

indifferent (comparative more indifferent, superlative most indifferent)

  1. Ambivalent; unconcerned; uninterested, apathetic.
    • He was indifferent to the proposal, since it didn’t affect him, either way.
    • “I must not hope to be ever situated as you are, in the midst of every dearest connexion, and therefore I cannot expect that simply growing older should make me indifferent about letters.” / “Indifferent! Oh! no—I never conceived you could become indifferent. Letters are no matter of indifference...1815 December (indicated as 1816), [Jane Austen], chapter XVI, in Emma: […], volume II, London: […] [Charles Roworth and James Moyes] for John Murray, →OCLC
  2. Indicating or reflecting a lack of concern or care.
    • She responded with an indifferent shrug.
    • Donald appeared not to see her at all, and answered her wise little remarks with curtly indifferent monosyllables […]1886 May, Thomas Hardy, chapter XXV, in The Mayor of Casterbridge: The Life and Death of a Man of Character. […], volume II, London: Smith, Elder & Co., […], →OCLC
  3. Mediocre (usually used negatively in modern usage).
    • The long distance and the indifferent roads made the journey impossible.
    • The Blue Jays' performance has been indifferent this season.
  4. Having no preference.
    • I am indifferent between the two plans.
    • Let Guilt or Fear / Disturb Man’s Rest: Cato knows neither of ’em, / Indiff’rent in his Choice to sleep or die.1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act V, scene i, page 57
  5. (dated) Unbiased, impartial, judging fairly.
    • On October 7, 1640, the Massachusetts General Court attempted to solve the problem by a law stating that property seized for debts was to be assessed "at such prizes [prices] as the same shalbee valewed [shall be valued] at by 3 understanding and indifferent men, to bee chosen, the one by the...1955, Bernard Bailyn, The New England Merchants In The Seventeenth Century, Harvard University Press, page 48
  6. Not making a difference; without significance or importance.
    • Even if one appliance consumes an indifferent amount of energy when left on stand-by overnight, together they can represent 10% of the electricity demand of a household.
    • […] But I am arm’d, / And dangers are to me indifferent.1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
  7. Being in the state of neutral equilibrium.
  8. (obsolete) Not different; matching.
    • […] let their heads be sleekly comb’d, their blue coats brush’d and their garters of an indifferent knitc. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...

Noun

indifferent (plural indifferents)

  1. A person who is indifferent or apathetic.

Adverb

indifferent

  1. (obsolete) To some extent, in some degree (intermediate between very and not at all); moderately, tolerably, fairly.
    • The face of the Moon appearing to me to be full of indifferent high mountains.
    • Get thee [to] a Nunry, why wouldst thou be a breeder of ſinners, I am my ſelfe indifferent honest, but yet I could accuse mee of ſuch things, that it were better my Mother had not bourne mee […]c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: […] (Second Quarto), London: […] I[ames] R[oberts] for N[icholas] L[ing] […], published 1604...
  2. (obsolete) Without distinction or preference for some over others.
    • Newton. My Maſters, you that be the chiefeſt of the rout,
      The King intreats you kindly here by me,
      To come and ſpeake with him a word or two.
      Iacke Straw. Sirra, if the King would any thinge with vs,
      Tell him the way is indifferent to meete vs.
      Newton. You are too many to be talkt with all, […]1593, anonymous author, The Life and Death of Iacke Straw […], →OCLC, Act III

indifferent meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

indifferent in Hindi

not caring
रूखा rūkhā

indifferent in Tamil

அக்கறையற்ற, ஈடுபாடற்ற, கருத்தற்ற

indifferent in Marathi

indifferent, neutral
उदासीन udāsīn
indifferent, apathetic
तटस्थ taṭastha

indifferent in Urdu

بےحس, بےپرواہ, غیرجانب دار, گھٹیا, مست, سرد مہر
More languagesFewer languages
indifferent in Bengali
উদাসীন, অনাগ্রহী, নিরপেক্ষ
indifferent in Malayalam
പ്രത്യേക താത്പര്യമില്ലാത്ത, മുൻവിധിയൊന്നുമില്ലാത്ത, ഉദാസീനമായ
indifferent in Kannada
ಔದಾಸೀನ್ಯದ, ಅನಾದರದ, ತಾತ್ಸಾರದ, ಅಸಡ್ಡೆಯ
indifferent in Punjabi
ਰੁੱਖਾ rukkhā
indifferent in Sanskrit
उदासिन् udāsin, मध्यस्थ madhyastha
indifferent in Tagalog
malatuba

Examples of indifferent in a sentence

  • Oh! no—I never conceived you could become indifferent.1815 December (indicated as 1816), [Jane Austen], chapter XVI, in Emma: […], volume II, London: […] [Charles Roworth and James Moyes] for...
  • When you have only three francs you are quite indifferent; for three francs will feed you till tomorrow, and you cannot think further than that.1933 January 9, George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], chapter III, in Down and Out in Paris and London, London: Victor Gollancz...
  • Then she shrugged, the mildest, most indifferent gesture he had ever seen, and smiled.1953, James Baldwin, “Gabriel’s Prayer”, in Go Tell It on the Mountain (A Laurel Book), New York, N.Y.: Dell Publishing Co., published...
  • I would sink into the indifferent squalor of old age.1990, J. M. Coetzee, Age of Iron, London: Secker & Warburg, page 33:

All 40 example sentences with indifferent

Synonyms of indifferent

30 more synonymsFewer synonyms

All synonyms of indifferent

Forms of indifferent

Adjective
comparativemore indifferent
superlativemost indifferent
Noun
pluralindifferents

Origin of indifferent

From Old French indifferent, from Latin indifferens. By surface analysis, in- + different.

Words formed from indifferent

Questions about indifferent

What does indifferent mean?
Indifferent means ambivalent; unconcerned; uninterested, apathetic.
What is indifferent in Hindi?
Indifferent in Hindi is रूखा (rūkhā). See Indifferent meaning in Hindi.
How do you use indifferent in a sentence?
Oh! no—I never conceived you could become indifferent.
What part of speech is indifferent?
Indifferent can be an adjective, a noun or an adverb.
How do you pronounce indifferent?
Indifferent is pronounced /ɪnˈdɪf.ɹənt/.

Words near indifferent in the dictionary

  1. indifference curve
  2. indifference curves
  3. indifferences
  4. indifferencies
  5. indifferency
  6. indifferent
  7. indifferentiability
  8. indifferentiable
  9. indifferentiate
  10. indifferentiated
  11. indifferentiates

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: indifferent (page history and authors); indifferent (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); उदासीन (Marathi) (page history and authors); indifferent (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); Indifferent (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); indifferent (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); indifferent (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ਰੁੱਖਾ (Punjabi) (page history and authors); उदासिन् (Sanskrit) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “indifferent.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/indifferent. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.