Use the noun apathy when someone is not interested in the important things that are happening. You might feel apathy for the political process after watching candidates bicker tediously with one another.
Although apathy is a lazy-sounding word that indicates a lack of interest, action or emotion towards something, it has traveled through many languages to arrive in English. Originating from the Greek apatheia meaning "without emotion," the word has been a part of the English language since the 17th century. Not only a single person, but a whole segment of the population can be accused of inaction, indifference or emotional detachment: the expressions voter apathy, student apathy, and consumer apathy show just how unenthusiastic large groups of people can be.
