Adjacent Words

Indifferent definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

INDIF'FERENT, a. [L. indifferens.]
1. Neutral; not inclined to one side, party or thing more than to another.
Cato knows neither of them,
Indifferent in his choice to sleep or die.
2. Unconcerned; feeling no interest,anxiety or care respecting any thing. It seems to be impossible that a rational being should be indifferent to the means of obtaining endless happiness.
It was a remarkable law of Solon, that any person who, in the commotions of the republic, remained neuter, or an indifferent spectator of the contending parties, should be condemned to perpetual banishment.
3. Having no influence or preponderating weight; having no difference that gives a preference. It is indifferent which road we take.
4. Neutral, as to good or evil. Things in themselves indifferent, may be rendered evil by the prohibition of law.
5. Impartial; disinterested; as an indifferent judge, juror or arbitrator.
6. Passable; of a middling state or quality; neither good, nor the worst; as indifferent writing or paper.
Indifferent, used adverbially, as indifferent honest, is ungrammatical and vulgar.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: marked by a lack of interest; "an apathetic audience"; "the universe is neither hostile nor friendly; it is simply indifferent" [syn: apathetic, indifferent]
2: showing no care or concern in attitude or action; "indifferent to the sufferings of others"; "indifferent to her plea"
3: (usually followed by `to') unwilling or refusing to pay heed; "deaf to her warnings" [syn: deaf, indifferent]
4: (often followed by `to') lacking importance; not mattering one way or the other; "whether you choose to do it or not is a matter that is quite immaterial (or indifferent)"; "what others think is altogether indifferent to him" [syn: immaterial, indifferent]
5: fairly poor to not very good; "has an indifferent singing voice"; "has indifferent qualifications for the job"
6: having only a limited ability to react chemically; chemically inactive; "inert matter"; "an indifferent chemical in a reaction" [syn: inert, indifferent, neutral]
7: marked by no especial liking or dislike or preference for one thing over another; "indifferent about which book you would give them"; "was indifferent to their acceptance or rejection of her invitation"
8: characterized by a lack of partiality; "a properly indifferent jury"; "an unbiasgoted account of her family problems" [syn: indifferent, unbiased, unbiassed]
9: being neither good nor bad; "an indifferent performance"; "a gifted painter but an indifferent actor"; "her work at the office is passable"; "a so-so golfer"; "feeling only so-so"; "prepared a tolerable dinner"; "a tolerable working knowledge of French" [syn: indifferent, so-so]
10: neither too great nor too little; "a couple of indifferent hills to climb"

Merriam Webster's

adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French or Latin; Anglo-French, from Latin indifferent-, indifferens, from in- + different-, differens, present participle of differre to be different — more at differ Date: 14th century 1. marked by impartiality ; unbiased 2. a. that does not matter one way or the other b. of no importance or value one way or the other 3. a. marked by no special liking for or dislike of something <indifferent about which task he was given> b. marked by a lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern for something ; apathetic <indifferent to suffering and poverty> 4. being neither excessive nor inadequate ; moderate <hills of indifferent size> 5. a. being neither good nor bad ; mediocre <does indifferent work> b. being neither right nor wrong 6. characterized by lack of active quality ; neutral <an indifferent chemical> 7. a. not differentiated <indifferent tissues of the human body> b. capable of development in more than one direction; especially not yet embryologically determined • indifferently adverb Synonyms: indifferent, unconcerned, incurious, aloof, detached, disinterested mean not showing or feeling interest. indifferent implies neutrality of attitude from lack of inclination, preference, or prejudice <indifferent to the dictates of fashion>. unconcerned suggests a lack of sensitivity or regard for others' needs or troubles <unconcerned about the homeless>. incurious implies an inability to take a normal interest due to dullness of mind or to self-centeredness <incurious about the world>. aloof suggests a cool reserve arising from a sense of superiority or disdain for inferiors or from shyness <aloof from his coworkers>. detached implies an objective attitude achieved through absence of prejudice or selfishness <observed family gatherings with detached amusement>. disinterested implies a circumstantial freedom from concern for personal or especially financial advantage that enables one to judge or advise without bias <judged by a panel of disinterested observers>.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. 1 neither good nor bad; average, mediocre. 2 a not especially good. b fairly bad. 3 (often prec. by very) decidedly inferior. 4 (foll. by to) having no partiality for or against; having no interest in or sympathy for. 5 chemically, magnetically, etc., neutral. Derivatives: indifferently adv. Etymology: ME f. OF indifferent or L indifferens (as IN-(1), DIFFERENT)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Indifferent In*dif"fer*ent, a. [F. indiff['e]rent, L. indifferens. See In- not, and Different.] 1. Not mal?ing a difference; having no influence or preponderating weight; involving no preference, concern, or attention; of no account; without significance or importance. Dangers are to me indifferent. --Shak. Everything in the world is indifferent but sin. --Jer. Taylor. His slightest and most indifferent acts . . . were odious in the clergyman's sight. --Hawthorne. 2. Neither particularly good, not very bad; of a middle state or quality; passable; mediocre. The staterooms are in indifferent order. --Sir W. Scott. 3. Not inclined to one side, party, or choice more than to another; neutral; impartial. Indifferent in his choice to sleep or die. --Addison. 4. Feeling no interest, anxiety, or care, respecting anything; unconcerned; inattentive; apathetic; heedless; as, to be indifferent to the welfare of one's family. It was a law of Solon, that any person who, in the civil commotions of the republic, remained neuter, or an indifferent spectator of the contending parties, should be condemned to perpetual banishment. --Addison. 5. (Law) Free from bias or prejudice; impartial; unbiased; disinterested. In choice of committees for ripening business for the counsel, it is better indifferent persons than to make an indifferency by putting in those that are strong on both sides. --Bacon. Indifferent tissue (Anat.), the primitive, embryonic, undifferentiated tissue, before conversion into connective, muscular, nervous, or other definite tissue.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Indifferent In*dif"fer*ent, adv. To a moderate degree; passably; tolerably. [Obs.] ``News indifferent good.'' --Shak.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

1. If you accuse someone of being indifferent to something, you mean that they have a complete lack of interest in it. People have become indifferent to the suffering of others. ADJ: oft ADJ to n • indifferently 'Not that it matters,' said Tench indifferently. ADV: ADV after v 2. If you describe something or someone as indifferent, you mean that their standard or quality is not very good, and often quite bad. She had starred in several very indifferent movies... = mediocre ADJ • indifferently ...an eight-year-old girl who reads tolerably and writes indifferently. ADV: ADV with v

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Neutral, impartial, disinterested, unbiassed. 2. Unconcerned, unmoved, apathetic, cool, cold, inattentive, dead, heedless, regardless, unmindful, uninterested. 3. Equal, all the same, just the same, all one, the same thing. 4. Passable, tolerable, middling, ordinary, soso, mediocre, neither bad nor good, rather poor.

Moby Thesaurus

Laodicean, Olympian, airy, aloof, apathetic, average, backward, balking, balky, benumbed, betwixt and between, blah, blase, bored, by-the-way, callous, careless, casual, centrist, chill, cold, comatose, commonplace, cool, cursory, dead, degage, desensitized, detached, devil-may-care, dilatory, dilute, diluted, disinterested, dispassionate, disregardant, disregardful, distant, distracted, distrait, dull, easy, easygoing, emotionless, equitable, even, evenhanded, everyday, fade, fair, fair to middling, fairish, fervorless, fifty-fifty, flat, flavorless, flippant, forgetful, free and easy, frigid, glacial, grudging, gruelly, half-and-half, halfhearted, heartless, hebetudinous, heedless, hopeless, icy, immaterial, impartial, impassive, impersonal, impotent, imprecise, in a stupor, inadvertent, inane, inappreciable, inattentive, inconsequential, inconsiderate, incurious, independent, indevotional, indevout, indifferentist, inferior, inobservant, insensible, insensitive, insignificant, insipid, insouciant, intermediate, jejune, just, lackadaisical, lackluster, laggard, languid, lax, lazy, lenient, lethargic, lightweight, listless, loath, loose, lukewarm, mean, mediocre, medium, middling, midway, mild, milk-and-water, mindless, minor, moderate, modest, namby-pamby, negligent, neuter, neutral, nonaligned, nonchalant, noncommitted, nonobservant, nonpartisan, nonreligious, not bad, nugatory, numb, numbed, objective, oblivious, of a kind, of a sort, of sorts, offhand, on the fence, ordinary, overindulgent, overpermissive, pappy, passable, passive, perfunctory, permissive, phlegmatic, pluckless, pococurante, poor, pulpy, reckless, regardless, relaxed, reluctant, remiss, remote, removed, renitent, resigned, respectable, respectless, restive, sapless, savorless, slack, slight, slipshod, sloppy, slow, slow to, sluggish, so so, so-so, soft, soporific, spiceless, spiritless, spunkless, stale, stoic, stolid, stupefied, supine, tactless, tasteless, tedious, tepid, thin, third-force, third-world, thoughtless, tolerable, torpid, trifling, trivial, unbiased, uncaring, uncommitted, uncompassionate, unconcerned, undazzled, undevout, undiplomatic, undistinguished, undutiful, unemotional, unenthusiastic, unfeeling, unflavored, unheedful, unheeding, unimportant, uninfluenced, uninquiring, uninspired, uninterested, uninvolved, unjaundiced, unmarking, unmindful, unnoticing, unnoting, unobservant, unobserving, unprejudiced, unprepared, unprepossessed, unready, unreligious, unremarking, unrestrained, unsavory, unsolicitous, unswayed, unsympathetic, untactful, unthinking, unzealous, vapid, washy, watered, watered-down, watery, weak, wishy-washy, withdrawn, zealless