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indifferent

indifferent

1 4.5
Not important and having little effect
  • adjective
  • /ɪnˈdɪfərənt/
translation icon : irrelevante
  • I'm indifferent to whether they dislike me.

So Hegel goes on and says it treats it as an indifferent thing, right.

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Examples

  • His indifferent attitude towards the project showed he didn't care about its outcome.

  • I'm indifferent as to whether you come.

  • Based strictly on utility, participants should be indifferent about the gamble.

    Academic text (2004)
  • Because of its vastness and despite its beauty, the cosmos often appears so indifferent to us that it is not easy to claim our close relationship with it.

    Academic text (2009)
  • It occurred while we were walking through a particularly empty region, a territory actually defined by the absence of people, which absence drew my attention to the seemingly indifferent presence of the natural world on every side.

    Academic text (2009)
  • She felt indifferent about the movie, finding it neither good nor bad.

  • Many people are indifferent to the weather, choosing to go about their day regardless of rain or sunshine.

Synonyms

insignificant
vsindifferent
104 4.1

Not important or too small to matter

expresses general lack of significance rather than small size
immaterial
vsindifferent
19 7.2

Not important or relevant to a situation

focuses on not being important or having no effect generally
nonsubstantive
vsindifferent
7.0

Not important and does not affect the main point

means unimportant in effect rather than merely lacking substance

Antonyms

2.5

Important and big enough to make a difference

592 3.3

Closely connected to what people are talking about or doing

How Important

indifferent
1 4.5
trivial
121 3.9
negligible
31 5.6

Surface Forms

indifferent positive

Morphology

indifferent = different (opaque) = in + different

The sense 'not important / having no significance' is a pragmatic semantic shift and is not directly deducible from 'different'.

Etymology

Indifferent is made of in- 'not' and different 'different', like saying 'it does not make a difference'. So if something is indifferent to you, it is not important or has no special effect.