apathy

/ˈæ.pə.θi/

//ˈæ.pə.θi// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"apathy" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“apathy” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #20,555. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#20,555
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Lack of emotion or motivation; lack of interest or enthusiasm towards something; disinterest (in something).

Corpus desk

Index EN-apathy · apathy · English

apathy · rank #20,555 · 9 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #20,555
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH antiquities

Nearest frequency peer: antiquities (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “apathy”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “apathy” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

apathy vs aptly
67% similar
apathy vs Apache
50% similar
apathy vs Agatha
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for apathy
PropertyValue
Headwordapathy
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈæ.pə.θi/
Letters6
Frequency rank#20,555
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “apathy”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).apathylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “antiquities” (#20,554), “angst” (#20,553), “artisan” (#20,557). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “apathy” is #20,555. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around apathy (IPA /ˈæ.pə.θi/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #20,555 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Lack of emotion or motivation; lack of interest or enthusiasm towards something; disinterest (in something).".

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for apathy, with forms such as "aapthy", "apahty", and "apathhy". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "aptly", "Apache", "Agatha", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French apathie, from Latin apathīa, from Ancient Greek ἀπάθεια (apátheia, “impassibility”, “insensibility”, “freedom from emotion”), from ἀπαθής (apathḗs, “not suffering or having suffered”, “without experience of”), from ἀ- (a-, “not”) + πάθος (páthos… The correct English form is apathy, spelled A-P-A-T-H-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Lack of emotion or motivation; lack of interest or enthusiasm towards something; disinterest (in something).

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how apathy appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. I opened it with apathy; the theory which he attempts to demonstrate and the wonderful facts which he relates soon changed this feeling into enthusiasm.

Etymology

From French apathie, from Latin apathīa, from Ancient Greek ἀπάθεια (apátheia, “impassibility”, “insensibility”, “freedom from emotion”), from ἀπαθής (apathḗs, “not suffering or having suffered”, “without experience of”), from ἀ- (a-, “not”) + πάθος (páthos, “anything that befalls one”, “incident”, “emotion”, “passion”). Doublet of apatheia, which was borrowed directly from Ancient Greek.

Synonyms

acediaaccedieapathyboredomcarefreenesscarelessnesscoolnessdisinterestdisregarddoldrumsennuiheedlessnessindifferenceinsouciancelanguorlassitudelethargylistlessnessmalaisemelancholiamelancholyunconcernuneaseweltschmerz

Antonyms

concernenthusiasmexcitementinterestpassionvigour

This word in other languages

apatía(Español)apathie(Français)Apathie(Deutsch)apatia(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • aapthy
  • apahty
  • apathhy
  • apathyy
  • apatthy
  • apatyh
  • appathy
  • aptahy
  • paathy

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of apathy - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

aapthy2apahty2apathhy1apathyy1apatthy1apatyh2appathy1aptahy2
Edit distance from "apathy"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "apathy"?
"apathy" is spelled A-P-A-T-H-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈæ.pə.θi/.
What does "apathy" mean?
As a noun, "apathy" means: Lack of emotion or motivation; lack of interest or enthusiasm towards something; disinterest (in something).
What words are commonly confused with "apathy"?
"apathy" is commonly confused with "aptly", "Apache", "Agatha". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "apathy"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "apathy" is /ˈæ.pə.θi/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "apathy"?
From French apathie, from Latin apathīa, from Ancient Greek ἀπάθεια (apátheia, “impassibility”, “insensibility”, “freedom from emotion”), from ἀπαθής (apathḗs, “not suffering or having suffered”, “without experience of”), from ἀ- (a-, “not”) + πάθ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "apathy", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

basins#20,564Wilkes#20,544birdie#20,569Vulcan#20,541

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

uplift9 variantscalmed9 variantscamper9 variantscasket9 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list