Emily Dickinson Lexicon

IN-DIF'FER-ENCE, n. [Fr. from L. indifferentia; in and differo, to differ. Indifferency is little used.]

1. Equipoise or neutrality of mind between different persons or things; a state in which the mind is not inclined to one side more than the other; as when we see a contest of parties with indifference.
2. Impartiality; freedom from prejudice, prepossession or bias; as when we read a book on controverted points with indifference. [This is a different application of the first definition.]
3. Unconcernedness; a state of the mind when it feels no anxiety or intetest in what is presented to it. No person of humanity can behold the wretchedness of the poor with indifference.
4. State in which there is no difference, or in which no moral or physical reason preponderates; as when we speck of the indifference of things in themselves. Hooker.