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apathy - 7 dictionary results

ap⋅a⋅thy

  [ap-uh-thee]
Use apathy in a Sentence
–noun, plural -thies.
1. absence or suppression of passion, emotion, or excitement.
2. lack of interest in or concern for things that others find moving or exciting.
3. Also, ap⋅a⋅thei⋅a, ap⋅a⋅thi⋅a  [ap-uh-thee-uh] . Stoicism. freedom from emotion of any kind.
Origin:
1595–1605; (< F) < L apathīa < Gk apátheia insensibility to suffering, equiv. to apathe- (s. of apaths) unfeeling (a- a- 6 + pathe-, var. s. of páthos pathos ) + -ia -ia

Synonyms:
1. coolness. 2. See indifference.

Antonyms:
1. ardor, fervor.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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ap·a·thy   (āp'ə-thē)   
n.  
  1. Lack of interest or concern, especially regarding matters of general importance or appeal; indifference.
  2. Lack of emotion or feeling; impassiveness.

[Latin apathīa, from Greek apatheia, from apathēs, without feeling : a-, without; see a-1 + pathos, feeling; see kwent(h)- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Apathy

Ap"a*thy\, n.; pl. Apathies. [L. apathia, Gr. ?; 'a priv. + ?, fr. ?, ?, to suffer: cf. F. apathie. See Pathos.] Want of feeling; privation of passion, emotion, or excitement; dispassion; -- applied either to the body or the mind. As applied to the mind, it is a calmness, indolence, or state of indifference, incapable of being ruffled or roused to active interest or exertion by pleasure, pain, or passion. "The apathy of despair." --Macaulay.

A certain apathy or sluggishness in his nature which led him . . . to leave events to take their own course. --Prescott.

According to the Stoics, apathy meant the extinction of the passions by the ascendency of reason. --Fleming.

Note: In the first ages of the church, the Christians adopted the term to express a contempt of earthly concerns.

Syn: Insensibility; unfeelingness; indifference; unconcern; stoicism; supineness; sluggishness.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : apathy
Spanish: apatía,
German: die Apathie,
Japanese: 無関心
More Translations »

apathy 
1603, "freedom from suffering," from Fr. apathie, from L. apathia, from Gk. apatheia "freedom from suffering, impassability," from apathes "without feeling," from a- "without" + pathos "emotion, feeling, suffering" (see pathos). Originally a positive quality; sense of "indolence of mind, indifference to what should excite" is from c.1733.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: ap·a·thy
Pronunciation: 'ap-&-thE
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -thies
: lack of feeling or emotion
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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apathy ap·a·thy (āp'ə-thē)
n.
Lack of interest, concern, or emotion; indifference.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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apathy

in Stoic philosophy, condition of being totally free from the pathe, which roughly are the emotions and passions, notably pain, fear, desire, and pleasure. Although remote origins of the doctrine can probably be found in the Cynics (second half of the 4th century BC), it was Zeno of Citium (4th-3rd century BC) who explicitly taught that the pathe were to be extirpated entirely.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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