Select the option that can be used as a one-word substitute for the given group of words. Lack of interest, enthusiasm or concern

Correct — A. The clue turns on the word lack, and that negative is carried by the Greek prefix a-, meaning without.

a- (without) + pathos (feeling) = apathy, an absence of interest, enthusiasm or concern.

All four options are built on the same pathos root, so the root decides nothing. The prefix decides everything, and only a- takes the feeling away rather than adding one — option (a).

Why the others are wrong

• (b)
  Antipathy — Antipathy is a strong, active dislike, from anti- (against). It is a feeling aimed at something, and the clue asks for a feeling that is missing.
• (c)
  Sympathy — Sympathy is fellow-feeling, from syn- (with) — pity or sorrow felt for somebody else's trouble. It supplies concern instead of withholding it.
• (d)
  Empathy — Empathy is the ability to share and understand another person's feelings from the inside. Once again the feeling is present, not absent.

One-word substitution here is settled by the prefix, not by knowing any option whole.

Every option ends in the Greek root pathos, feeling. What changes is the front:
a- = without, anti- = against, syn- = with, en- = in.

So read the clue for its direction word. Lack of points to the prefix that removes, and a- + pathos is the build that does it.

Key facts

• Apathy means an absence of interest, enthusiasm or concern, from Greek a- (without) plus pathos (feeling).
• Antipathy means a settled dislike or aversion, built on anti- (against).
• Empathy is sharing another person's feelings, while sympathy is feeling sorrow or pity for them.

Common traps

• Treating apathy as a milder antipathy rather than as the absence of feeling
• Picking empathy because it is the word candidates meet most often in ordinary use
• Skipping the clue word lack and matching only on the idea of feeling

No directly related past PYQ was found.