Apathies

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An absence of feeling or emotional response, characterized by indifference or lack of interest in things that typically engage feelings
2. A state where an individual exhibits little or no enthusiasm or concern for events or circumstances surrounding them
3. A condition marked by an inability to express emotions or react to stimuli, resulting in disengagement from personal and social interactions

Etymology: "Apathies" is simply the plural of "apathy", so it names several distinct states of indifference rather than a new concept. The noun "apathy" itself traces back to Ancient Greek "apatheia", which meant "impassibility" or "freedom from emotion". That Greek word was built from "a-", meaning "not", and "pathos", which meant anything that befalls a person, including incident, suffering and passion. Its original sense was therefore close to the opposite of how we use it now: a Stoic-flavoured ideal of being unmoved by feeling, not a lack of care. The Greek term passed into Latin as "apathia" and then into French as "apathie", and English took it from French. Over time the emotional calm that Greek thinkers prized slid into the sense of not caring at all, which is the meaning that remains in use today. The Greek word also survives in English as a doublet, "apatheia", borrowed directly from Greek, though it is far less common.

Synonyms: indifference, unconcern, impassivity, detachment, listlessness

Antonyms: passion, interest, enthusiasm, concern, excitement