Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Indifferent; neutral; morally neither right nor wrong.
  • Hence Applied by Boyle to a spirit neither acid nor alkaline.
  • In medicine, doing neither good nor harm, as a medicament.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Indifferent or neutral.
  • adjective (Med.) Incapable of doing either harm or good, as some medicines.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective neither harmful nor beneficial

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

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Examples

  • At dawn we convene, an adiaphorous wind caresses us with listless fingers, vainglorious and animal.

    THE BOOK OF SUCH ~ a suite of poems 2009

  • At dawn we convene, an adiaphorous wind caresses us with listless fingers, vainglorious and animal.

    THE BOOK OF SUCH ~ a suite of poems 2009

  • And certainly Paul sees the slave / master relationship as adiaphorous at worst so long as the master treats the slave well and the slave is obedient.

    The Golden Rule vs. Slavery James F. McGrath 2008

  • Catholic practices adiaphorous (indifferent things, neither good nor bad), hence permissible provided that the proper doctrine were maintained and its import made clear to the people.

    The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 10: Mass Music-Newman 1840-1916 1913

  • But administrators who adopt the wiggle-room approach will tend to be more modest and consultative in interpreting that core, and will often "agree to disagree" on issues that can reasonably be deemed ambiguous or adiaphorous.

    Mere Orthodoxy 2010

Comments

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  • Doing neither good nor harm, as a medicine.

    February 16, 2008

  • JM is building a fence so the adiaphorous have somewhere to sit.

    May 30, 2010

  • Miss Duncan made viewers wax amorous

    By dancing in garments diaphanous.

    The prim and the haughty

    Did think her quite naughty

    But art is at worst adiaphorous.

    January 15, 2018