Uninterested

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Lacking curiosity, concern, or enthusiasm about something; not wanting to know more or become involved
2. Feeling a lack of interest, enthusiasm, or engagement in a situation or topic
3. exhibiting indifference or apathy toward something perceived as unworthy of attention

Etymology: "Uninterested" is simply "un-" attached to "interested", and the prefix has a long pedigree. The "un-" traces back through Proto-Indo-European "*ne", the ancestral negative, to Proto-Germanic and Old English, where it was already the standard way of reversing a meaning. English speakers have been attaching it to adjectives ever since, so "uninterested" is a transparent formation rather than a borrowing. The base, "interested", is the more interesting half, since its sense has shifted over time. Its roots lie in the Latin "interest", meaning "it concerns" or "it matters", which is what makes the word's modern sense of attention and care a natural outgrowth. Built on that foundation, "uninterested" describes someone for whom something simply does not matter.

Synonyms: disinterested, indifferent, apathetic, unconcerned, aloof

Antonyms: interested, engaged, involved, curious, enthusiastic