indifferent
/ɪnˈdɪf(ə)r(ə)nt
/adjective
1Having no particular interest or sympathy; unconcerned: he gave an indifferent shrug most workers were indifferent to foreign affairs...
- I couldn't really feel any great sympathy for him, and felt rather indifferent to his fate.
- The third threat level is constituted by political systems that are indifferent to the expressed interests of the majority of the world's population.
- I was rather indifferent to it at the time, but twenty years on, it sounds fresh and original.
Synonyms
unconcerned about, apathetic about/towards, uncaring about, casual about, nonchalant about, offhand about, uninterested in, uninvolved in/with;
heedless of, mindless of, careless of, regardless of, oblivious to;
reckless about, cavalier about, frivolous about, dismissive of;
unimpressed by, bored by, weary of, unmoved by, unresponsive to, lukewarm about, unenthusiastic about, phlegmatic about;
impassive, dispassionate, aloof, insouciant, detached, distant, cold, cool, unresponsive, passionless, unemotional, emotionless, unmoved, unfeeling, unsympathetic, callous
rare pococurante
2Neither good nor bad; mediocre: a pair of indifferent watercolours...
- And but for an indifferent second season, he has piled on runs, averaging 49.7 from 35 first-class games.
- Distracted by the regulatory settlement, it is easy to overlook how indifferent the company's second-quarter performance was.
- What we definitely did see was indifferent bowling and fielding in the first half, and indifferent batting in the second.
Synonyms
mediocre, ordinary, commonplace, average, middle-of-the-road, middling, medium, moderate, everyday, workaday, tolerable, passable, adequate, fair;
inferior, second-rate, uninspired, undistinguished, unexceptional, unexciting, unremarkable, run-of-the-mill, not very good, pedestrian, prosaic, lacklustre, forgettable, amateur, amateurish
informal OK, so-so, bog-standard, fair-to-middling, (plain) vanilla, nothing to write home about, no great shakes, not so hot, not up to much
New Zealand informal half-pie
2.1Not good; fairly bad: in spite of very indifferent weather...
- The opera was indifferent, but fairly successful with public.
- He was a city boy, always had been, and his riding skills were fairly indifferent.
- The indifferent weather is affecting the outcome of matches as batters are finding it hard to get any rhythm.
Derivatives
indifferently
/ adverb ...- I shrugged indifferently, though I felt my face grow a little hot.
- She longed for the free time that she'd once thought so indifferently of.
- She believes she can act carelessly and indifferently as long as everyone else is careful to keep out of her way.
Origin
Late Middle English (in the sense 'having no partiality for or against'): via Old French from Latin indifferent- 'not making any difference', from in- 'not' + different- 'differing' (see different).