'cast'

Hello.

"Infant death becomes routine in an environment in which death is anticipated and bets are hedged. While the routinization of death in the context of shantytown life is not hard to understand, and quite possible to empathize with, its routinization in the formal institutions of public life in Bom Jesus is not as easy to accept uncritically. Here the social production of indifference takes on a different, even a malevolent, cast.“ ("Death without Weeping", Natural History, Nancy Scheper-Hughes, 1989.)

Here, what "take on a cast" means?
I referred to a dictionary, but for me it was hard to find a meaning that matches the context exactly
 "The form or appearance of something, especially someone's features or complexion (Oxford)" seemed the most appropriate one, but still I wonder if it's possible to take on a form or appearance.
Could you explain what "cast" means here?

Thank you in advance.