Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

apathy

/ˈæ.pə.θi/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.26 in modern English

Syllables: ap-a-thy
IPA: /ˈæ.pə.θi/

14

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

3

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Lack of emotion or motivation; lack of interest or enthusiasm towards something; disinterest (in something).

Uncountable

Example Sentences

"I opened it with apathy; the theory which he attempts to demonstrate and the wonderful facts which he relates soon changed this feeling into enthusiasm."

Etymology

From French apathie, from Latin apathīa, from Ancient Greek ἀπάθεια (apátheia, “impassibility”, “insensibility”, “freedom from emotion”), from ἀπαθής (apathḗs, “not suffering or having suffered”, “without experience of”), from ἀ- (a-, “not”) + πάθος (páthos, “anything that befalls one”, “incident”, “emotion”, “passion”). Doublet of apatheia, which was borrowed directly from Ancient Greek.

Origin

Source language: French

Word Breakdown

Root: apathie, apathīa, ἀπάθεια

Usage

Uncountable

Inflected Forms

apathies (plural)

Derived Forms

apatheist

Frequently Paired Words

apatheia apatheism apathetic apathize apathized

Synonyms

indifference neutrality unconcern acedia accedie apathy boredom carefreeness carelessness coolness disinterest disregard

Antonyms

concern sympathy interest care enthusiasm excitement passion vigour

Questions

How do you pronounce apathy?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈæ.pə.θi/.
What does apathy mean?: Lack of emotion or motivation; lack of interest or enthusiasm towards something; disinterest (in something).
Where does apathy come from?: It is traced to French.

How to pronounce apathy

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “apathy”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈæ.pə.θi/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “apathy”.
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