In the word series rupees, arena, pursue, spare, separate, ?, which of the following words should come next to continue the pattern?

Introduction / Context:
This is a slightly unusual verbal reasoning question. You are given the word series rupees, arena, pursue, spare, separate, ?, and asked to choose the next word. The pattern is not based on meaning or simple alphabetical order. Instead, it uses the position of a specific letter inside each word, which moves in a very systematic way.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Series: rupees, arena, pursue, spare, separate, ?
• Options: rapid, pusher, person, super, proper.
• The letter of interest in this sequence is the letter r.
• We use one based indexing: the first letter of a word is in position 1, the second in position 2, and so on.

Concept / Approach:
Rather than counting letters or looking for synonyms, we inspect where the letter r appears within each word. A strong pattern emerges: the position of r increases by one with each successive word. Once we confirm that this rule holds consistently for the given words, we look for an option where the letter r appears exactly in the next required position.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Take the word "rupees". It is spelled r u p e e s. The letter r appears in position 1. Step 2: Take the word "arena". It is spelled a r e n a. Here, r appears in position 2. Step 3: Take the word "pursue". It is spelled p u r s u e. The letter r appears in position 3. Step 4: Take the word "spare". It is spelled s p a r e. The letter r appears in position 4. Step 5: Take the word "separate". It is spelled s e p a r a t e. The letter r appears in position 5. Step 6: We see a clear pattern: the position of r moves from 1 to 2 to 3 to 4 to 5 as we go along the series. Step 7: Therefore, in the next word in the series, the letter r should appear in position 6. Step 8: Check each option. "rapid" has r at position 1. "pusher" is spelled p u s h e r, and r is in position 6. "person" has r at position 3. "super" has r at position 5. "proper" has r in more than one place but the earliest is not position 6. Step 9: Only "pusher" has r exactly in the sixth position and fits the pattern.

Verification / Alternative check:
We can summarise the r positions as: rupees (1), arena (2), pursue (3), spare (4), separate (5), pusher (6). This creates a simple and consistent sequence of increasing positions by 1 each time. No other option yields a continuation to 6 while also being a valid English word of the given list, which confirms "pusher" as the unique correct answer.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
"rapid" starts with r, so the position is 1 not 6. "person" has r as the third letter, repeating a position already used in "pursue". "super" has r at position 5, same as in "separate", and does not advance the pattern. "proper" has r appearing earlier than position 6, so it does not fit the required positional shift either.

Common Pitfalls:
Many candidates initially look for a semantic pattern, for example thinking of money, actions, or grammatical forms, but do not find a convincing progression. Others may count total letters without noticing the special role of r. When a word series feels arbitrary in meaning, it is often helpful to track the position of a particular repeating letter or substring, which is exactly the trick used here.

Final Answer:
The word that correctly continues the pattern is pusher, with r in the sixth position.