Literary notes about indifferent (AI summary)
In literature, “indifferent” is often used to evoke a sense of emotional detachment or neutrality, whether in a character’s demeanor or in the tone of a narrative. It can describe a character who shows little reaction to events or people, as when a figure’s cold, unresponsive expression is noted [1, 2, 3]. At times, the term conveys a suspension of judgment or a state of apathy toward what might otherwise be significant, as seen in discussions of personal tastes or moral stances [4, 5, 6]. Other uses emphasize a deliberate impartiality or lack of concern for outcomes, suggesting that all matters are of equal, unremarkable value [7, 8, 9]. This versatile adjective, therefore, enriches texts by capturing a range of attitudes—from deliberate reserve to a broader commentary on human disengagement.
- But his eye, as it rested upon her, though attentive, was indifferent and cold.
— from A True Friend: A Novel by Adeline Sergeant - He looked pale, and proud, and indifferent.
— from The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde - Not a word more would he say, but sat in his implacable sullenness as indifferent to me as though I had not been in the room at all.
— from Dracula by Bram Stoker - In the old days I used to like my dinner, or at least was indifferent about it; now it excites in me no feeling but weariness and irritation.
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov - a virtue which consists in the knowledge of things good, bad, and indifferent.
— from Cicero's Tusculan Disputations by Marcus Tullius Cicero - y; and that all middle things between virtue and vice are indifferent unto thee.
— from Meditations by Emperor of Rome Marcus Aurelius - The former is indifferent to what is going on; one result is just as good as another, since each is just something to look at.
— from Democracy and Education: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Education by John Dewey - No, we cannot love men, but we can be harmlessly indifferent to them; we can also like them, sometimes.
— from The Mysterious Stranger, and Other Stories by Mark Twain - But one cannot sustain an indifferent air concerning Fedallah.
— from Moby Dick; Or, The Whale by Herman Melville
