Select the most appropriate ANTONYM of the given word. Barbarity

Correct — C. Barbarity is savage cruelty — the noun for conduct that is brutal and without pity.

Its opposite is pity itself, and the word for that is compassion: feeling for another's suffering together with the wish to relieve it.

Form decides as much as meaning here. Barbarity is a noun, so the antonym must be a noun, and that alone removes callous. Option (c) is right on both counts.

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  Rivalry — Rivalry is competition between people who want the same thing. It is not on the cruelty scale at all, so it cannot be the other end of it.
• (b)
  Callous — Callous means unfeeling and hard-hearted — the same direction as barbarity, not its reverse. It is also an adjective where a noun is required.
• (d)
  Compromise — Compromise is a settlement in which each side gives ground. It opposes stubbornness, not cruelty.

Two filters decide most antonym items, and this one needs both.

Form first. The given word is the noun barbarity, so a correct antonym is a noun. Callous is an adjective and cannot answer whatever its meaning.

Meaning next. The axis here is cruelty against pity. Rivalry and compromise sit on other axes altogether — competition and negotiation — so neither can be an opposite here.

Barbarity goes back to Greek barbaros, used for a foreigner whose speech sounded unintelligible. English narrowed it to savage conduct.

Key facts

• Barbarity means extreme cruelty or brutality.
• Compassion is sympathy for suffering joined to the wish to relieve it.
• Callous is an adjective, so it cannot be the antonym of a noun.

Common traps

• Marking callous because it belongs to the same theme as barbarity
• Overlooking that the given word is a noun while the options mix parts of speech

No directly related past PYQ was found.