indifferent
Part of speech: adj
noun
Morphological type: derivation
Topics: engineering
mechanical-engineering
mechanics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
Etymology: Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *né
Proto-Indo-European *n̥-
Proto-Italic *n̥-
Latin in-
Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁
Proto-Indo-European *d(w)is-
Proto-Italic *dis-
Latin dis-
Proto-Indo-European *bʰer-
Proto-Indo-European *bʰéreti
Proto-Italic *ferō
Latin ferō
Latin differō
Latin differēns
Latin indifferēns
Old French indifferent
English indifferent
From Old French indifferent, from Latin indifferens. By surface analysis, in- + different.
Inflected forms:
form: more indifferent
pos: adj
tags: comparative
form: most indifferent
pos: adj
tags: superlative
form: indifferents
pos: noun
tags: plural
Senses:
gloss: Ambivalent; unconcerned; uninterested, apathetic.
pos: adj
examples: 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; they are generally a very positive curse.”
When you have a hundred francs in the world you are liable to the most craven panics. 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. You are bored, but you are not afraid.
gloss: Indicating or reflecting a lack of concern or care.
pos: adj
examples: She responded with an indifferent shrug.
Donald appeared not to see her at all, and answered her wise little remarks with curtly indifferent monosyllables […]
Then she shrugged, the mildest, most indifferent gesture he had ever seen, and smiled.
‘Wonderful, Florence,’ I said, producing the ritual phrases: ‘I don’t know what I would do without you.’ But of course I do know. I would sink into the indifferent squalor of old age.
“As a result, OCR found that the district’s pattern of inconsistent responses to reports it received of sexual harassment – infrequently responding under Title IX or not responding at all – rose to the level that the district’s response to some families’ sexual harassment reports was deliberately indifferent to students’ civil rights,” a news release from DOE reads.
gloss: Mediocre (usually used negatively in modern usage).
pos: adj
examples: The long distance and the indifferent roads made the journey impossible.
The Blue Jays' performance has been indifferent this season.
When Mrs. Honour had made her Report from the Landlord, Sophia, with much Difficulty, procured some indifferent Horses, which brought her to the Inn, where Jones had been confined rather by the Misfortune of meeting with a Surgeon, than by having met with a broken Head.
[T]he state-rooms are unaired, and in indifferent order, since of late years.
Suddenly Barbara remembered the party where she had first met Ruth Gardnor with her husband. The night of the dinner party. And the cello: it had been an indifferent performance.
gloss: Having no preference.
pos: adj
examples: 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.
The scientific worker aims at knowledge and is quite indifferent whether people like or dislike the knowledge he produces.
gloss: Unbiased, impartial, judging fairly.
pos: adj
tags: dated
examples: 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 creditor, another by the debtor, and the third by the marshall […]"
gloss: Not making a difference; without significance or importance.
pos: adj
examples: 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.
[E]very thing in the world is indifferent but sin.
His gestures, his gait, his grizzled beard, his slightest and most indifferent acts, the very fashion of his garments, were odious in the clergyman’s sight; […]
We talked of indifferent things, and watched the juggler who was tossing torches in the Stadium, for twilight was falling.
gloss: Being in the state of neutral equilibrium.
pos: adj
gloss: Not different; matching.
pos: adj
tags: obsolete
examples: […] let their heads be sleekly comb’d, their blue coats brush’d and their garters of an indifferent knit
gloss: A person who is indifferent or apathetic.
pos: noun
Related words: indifference
indifferency
indifferentism
indifferently
Derived words: indifferentist
indifferentness
unindifferent
Translations:
lang: American Sign Language
word: 1@Nose-FingerBack 1@FromNose-FingerForward
lang: Armenian
word: անտարբեր
roman: antarber
lang: Azerbaijani
word: laqeyd
lang: Azerbaijani
word: biganə
lang: Belarusian
word: абыя́кавы
roman: abyjákavy
lang: Belarusian
word: безува́жны
roman: bjezuvážny
lang: Belarusian
word: раўнаду́шны
roman: rawnadúšny
lang: Bulgarian
word: равноду́шен
roman: ravnodúšen
lang: Bulgarian
word: безразли́чен
roman: bezrazlíčen
lang: Bulgarian
word: безучастен
roman: bezučasten
lang: Catalan
word: indiferent
lang: Chinese
word: 冷淡
roman: zh-min-nan
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 冷漠
roman: lěngmò
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 冷淡
roman: lěngdàn
lang: Czech
word: lhostejný
lang: Danish
word: ligeglad
lang: Dutch
word: onverschillig
lang: Finnish
word: välinpitämätön
lang: French
word: indifférent
lang: Galician
word: indiferente
lang: German
word: gleichgültig
lang: German
word: teilnahmslos
lang: Greek
word: αδιάφορος
roman: adiáforos
lang: Ancient Greek
word: ἄτρεπτος
roman: átreptos
lang: Hebrew
word: אָדִישׁ
roman: adísh
lang: Hindi
word: रूखा
roman: rūkhā
lang: Hungarian
word: közömbös
lang: Hungarian
word: közönyös
lang: Hungarian
word: érdektelen
lang: Hungarian
word: érzéketlen
lang: Irish
word: fuarchúiseach
lang: Italian
word: indifferente
lang: Japanese
word: 冷淡な
roman: reitan na
lang: Japanese
word: 無関心な
roman: mukanshin na
lang: Japanese
word: どこ吹く風の
roman: dokofukukaze no
lang: Korean
word: 무관심하다
roman: mugwansimhada
lang: Southern Kurdish
word: خەمسەرد
roman: xemserd
lang: Latin
word: incūriōsus
lang: Latin
word: indifferens
lang: Lithuanian
word: abejingas
lang: Macedonian
word: рамнодушен
roman: ramnodušen
lang: Māori
word: arokore
lang: Māori
word: haumaruru
lang: Māori
word: ngākau kore
lang: Māori
word: ngākaukore
lang: Māori
word: whakamoroki
lang: Norwegian Bokmål
word: likegyldig
lang: Norwegian Nynorsk
word: likesæl
lang: Polish
word: obojętny
lang: Portuguese
word: indiferente
lang: Romanian
word: indiferent
lang: Romanian
word: apatic
lang: Russian
word: равноду́шный
roman: ravnodúšnyj
lang: Russian
word: безразли́чный
roman: bezrazlíčnyj
lang: Russian
word: безуча́стный
roman: bezučástnyj
lang: Russian
word: индиффере́нтный
roman: indifferéntnyj
lang: Scottish Gaelic
word: coma
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: равно̀душан
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: ravnòdušan
lang: Slovak
word: ľahostajný
lang: Spanish
word: indiferente
lang: Spanish
word: apático
lang: Spanish
word: desganado
lang: Spanish
word: ni le viene ni le va
lang: Swedish
word: likgiltig
lang: Tagalog
word: malatuba
lang: Tatar
word: битараф
roman: bitaraf
lang: Turkish
word: umursamaz
lang: Turkish
word: ilgisiz
lang: Turkish
word: kayıtsız
lang: Ukrainian
word: байду́жий
roman: bajdúžyj
lang: Ukrainian
word: байду́жний
roman: bajdúžnyj
lang: Ukrainian
word: байду́жливий
roman: bajdúžlyvyj
lang: Ukrainian
word: рівноду́шний
roman: rivnodúšnyj
lang: Uzbek
word: beparvo