Select the antonym of the verb to brood, which means to think deeply and anxiously about something, often in a worried or gloomy way.

Introduction / Context:
This question belongs to the antonym section of English vocabulary. The given verb is to brood, which describes a particular mental and emotional state. You must select the option that expresses the opposite meaning. Antonym questions are important in competitive exams because they test whether you can distinguish between words that describe different attitudes or behaviours, especially when several options are semantically related to worry or sadness.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The verb in focus is to brood.
• The options are to repine, to ignore, to fret, to mope, and to worry.
• To brood generally means to think deeply and anxiously about something, often dwelling on problems or negative thoughts.
• We assume that the antonym should describe not giving anxious thought to something, or actively refusing to dwell on it.

Concept / Approach:
To find an antonym, you must first clearly understand the meaning of the word in question. To brood is to keep thinking about a problem in a dark or gloomy way, almost nurturing the negative feelings instead of letting them go. Words that also describe worrying, complaining, or being sad are likely to be synonyms or near synonyms, not antonyms. The opposite of brooding is a mental attitude where you do not dwell on problems, such as ignoring them or letting them pass without deep thought. Therefore, among the options, we must identify the one that best expresses not dwelling on or not paying attention to the matter.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Understand to brood. It means to think persistently and gloomily about something, often a problem or insult, and to remain mentally occupied by it. Step 2: Examine option a, to repine. This means to feel or express discontent, to complain, or to be dissatisfied. It is emotionally close to brooding because it shows unhappiness. Step 3: Examine option b, to ignore. This means to pay no attention to something or someone, to deliberately choose not to think about an issue. Step 4: Examine option c, to fret. This means to worry or be anxious, especially in a restless way. It is very close in meaning to brood. Step 5: Examine option d, to mope. This means to be silent and unhappy, often moving slowly and showing low spirits. This is also similar to brooding. Step 6: Examine option e, to worry. Like fret, this is another near synonym of brood, since it means to feel anxious or troubled about something. Step 7: Only to ignore expresses the opposite attitude to brooding, because ignoring a problem means not dwelling on it at all. Therefore, option b is the correct antonym.

Verification / Alternative Check:
Consider two extreme reactions to an insult. One person may brood over it, thinking about it every day and feeling hurt. Another person may ignore it, dismissing it as unimportant and not thinking about it further. These two reactions are opposite in nature. In contrast, if someone repines, frets, mopes, or worries, they are all still emotionally engaged with the issue, which makes these options similar in sentiment to brooding rather than opposite. This comparison confirms that ignoring something is the opposite of brooding over it.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option a, to repine, indicates complaining and dissatisfaction, which reflects continued negative focus, close to brooding.
Option c, to fret, directly means to worry or feel anxious, clearly functioning as a synonym or near synonym of brood.
Option d, to mope, shows depressive or sad behaviour, again aligned with brooding rather than opposing it.
Option e, to worry, captures the same idea of mental anxiety and disturbance that is central to brooding, so it cannot be an antonym.

Common Pitfalls:
A common pitfall is to confuse close synonyms with antonyms when several options share negative emotional content. Many students quickly recognise that to brood is negative and then pick another negative word, such as to repine or to fret, thinking that any different negative emotion is the opposite. However, proper antonyms reverse the direction of meaning. For emotional verbs, it often helps to imagine real life behaviour: if brooding is obsessively thinking, its opposite is not thinking about the issue at all, which is best captured by ignoring it.

Final Answer:
The antonym of to brood among the given options is to ignore, so option b is correct.