Section 1
Feelings and Suffering (PATHOS)
These words all relate to feelings—or a lack thereof—and are built on the Greek root PATHOS, meaning “suffering” or “feeling.”
Key Words
| Word | Definition |
|---|---|
| antipathy | n. a deep-seated feeling of dislike; aversion. |
| apathy | n. lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern. |
| empathy | n. the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. |
| pathological | adj. relating to or caused by a physical or mental disease; compulsive or obsessive. |
| pathos | n. a quality that evokes pity or sadness. |
📝Example Usage
- His natural antipathy toward authority figures often made it difficult for him to follow strict corporate protocols.
- The company’s stagnation was largely blamed on the leadership’s apathy toward adopting new technologies.
- Designing a successful tutoring platform requires a great deal of empathy for the struggles students face.
- The patient’s pathological need for neatness was a symptom of a deeper underlying condition.
- The final scene of the play was full of pathos, leaving the audience in complete silence as the curtain fell.
🧠Memory Trick
- His pathological antipathy for crowds led to complete apathy about social events, but he felt great empathy for the lonely character whose story was filled with pathos.