Question

Choose the word that gives the antonym of the words italicized.
The two girls are always together. There is a great affinity between them.

a) Apathy
b) Empathy
c) Antipathy
d) Sympathy

Answer 1

Hint: Affinity refers to a liking for something or understanding of someone or something. An antonym refers to a word that is opposite in meaning to another word. Example- Big is an antonym of small.

Complete answer:

Let’s look at the usage of ‘affinity’-
Example: He had a special affinity with cats.
Here, we can conclude that ‘X’ had a special liking or understanding of cats.
Now, let’s decipher the meaning of the given options-
Option a ‘Apathy’ means to have lack of interest or concern. The option is almost the opposite of the given word. So, this option is incorrect.
Option b ‘Empathy’ means the capacity or capability of someone to understand the emotions of something or someone. The option not only is similar in meaning but also satisfies the motive of the question and gives it a coherent meaning. So, this option is an incorrect option.
Option c ‘Antipathy’ means a strong feeling of dislike towards someone. The meaning of the word is exactly the opposite in meaning to ‘affinity’. Hence, it is the correct option.
Option d ‘Sympathy’ means a sense of pity or sorrow and it also means understanding someone’s emotions but the word doesn’t suit the sentence given and so this is the incorrect option.
So, the correct answer is “Option c”.

Note: Option b and option d, both, are the synonyms of the given word but the usage depends on the sentence. Some commonly used antonyms of ‘affinity’ are dislike, aversion, etc.