Apathy vs Antipathy: What's the Difference?

Apathy is a lack of feeling or interest — not caring at all. Antipathy is a strong feeling of dislike or hostility — actively caring in a negative way.

apathy

A lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern about something.

"The town's apathy towards the local park's disrepair surprised everyone."
SAT GRE TOEFL

antipathy

A strong dislike or aversion towards someone or something.

"The two people felt an immediate antipathy towards each other."
GRE

How to remember

Apathy = no feeling (the 'a-' prefix means 'without'). Antipathy = against feeling (the 'anti-' prefix means 'against'). One is cold indifference; the other is hot dislike.

Test tip

GRE Text Completion questions may test whether a passage describes indifference (apathy) or active hostility (antipathy) — the distinction matters for the correct answer.

← All comparisons Browse vocabulary →