This questions is from the Quiz Hour for groups 1-3. According to me, the but sets up a contrast with everything before it and everything after it. But is a negative and the idea after it is also a negative so the idea before has to be a positive and so the blank should have something relating to love or inclination and so I chose proclivity as the answer. Can someone please help me understand why I am wrong? The actual answer is antipathy.
You’re right about the contrast.
But you’ve not paid attention to the semantics.
The correct answer for this sentence is structured like this;
His negative stance on the topic was already known, but that didn’t stop him from continuing to be negative at every chance
What is the evidence for “continuing to be negative”? It could also be that his love for the topic did not stop him from being negative about it? Could you please explain why this is wrong?
Proclivity means a tendency or inclination toward something — which is positive. So if he had a proclivity (or fondness) for liberal economic theory, it would not make sense for him to rant about its flaws. That contradicts the action described after the “but.”
Antipathy means a strong dislike — which does align with someone ranting endlessly about flaws.
The key is that his negative stance (antipathy) is what makes the contrast unexpected — you’d think if his dislike was well-known, he’d be done talking about it, but he still keeps ranting. So the contrast is about degree or persistence, not type of sentiment.
If he had a proclivity (a liking) for liberal economic theory, it would make his endless rants against it completely illogical unless more context is given to explain the contradiction. The sentence doesn’t offer that.
Summary;
Antipathy: He disliked it, but kept ranting about it — consistent and surprising in intensity.
Proclivity: He liked it, yet ranted about its flaws — inconsistent and unsupported by context.
Ok, I think I understood it wrong. I thought that he likes it yet he went on a rant about it which is shocking. Thank you for the clarification.
You’re welcome