Select the most appropriate antonym of the given word. Lassitude

Correct — C. Lassitude is physical or mental weariness, a lack of energy. The axis being reversed is energy.

At the other end of that axis sits vigor: physical strength, energy and enthusiasm. Someone full of vigor is the opposite of someone sunk in lassitude → option (c).

The root helps: Latin lassus, 'tired'.

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  Exhaustion — Exhaustion is extreme tiredness, a stronger form of lassitude rather than its reverse. It sits on the same side of the energy axis.
• (b)
  Apathy — Apathy is a lack of interest or enthusiasm. It shares lassitude's listlessness and sits on the same side, so it cannot be the opposite.
• (d)
  Lethargy — Lethargy, a lack of energy and enthusiasm, is a direct synonym of lassitude. It is the trap for a candidate who reads the instruction as synonym instead of antonym.

An antonym item is solved in two steps: find the axis the word sits on, then pick the option at the far end.

Lassitude sits at the tired, drained end of an energy axis. Exhaustion, Apathy and Lethargy all sit at that same end, which is why none of them can be its opposite.

Vigor is the one option at the energetic end, so it is the antonym.

Key facts

• Lassitude means physical or mental weariness, a lack of energy.
• It comes from Latin lassitudo, from lassus, 'tired'.
• Vigor is the US spelling of vigour, meaning physical strength, energy and enthusiasm.
• Lethargy and languor are close synonyms of lassitude.

Common traps

• Picking Lethargy or Exhaustion because they are the words you link with lassitude, forgetting that the instruction asks for the opposite
• Rejecting Vigor as a misspelling of vigour, when it is the standard US form

No directly related past PYQ was found.