Crossword Genius

A way to refer to rising, showing no enthusiam (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

apathetic

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'no enthusiam' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.

'a way to refer to rising' is the wordplay.
'way' becomes 'path' (synonyms).
'to refer to' becomes 'cite' ('cite' can be a synonym of 'refer to').
'rising' says the letters should be written in reverse (in a down clue, letters go up).
'cite' reversed gives 'etic'.
'a'+'path'+'etic'='APATHETIC'

'showing' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for apathetic that I've seen before include "Showing no emotion or interest" , "showing no enthusiasm" , "Listless, lacking in interest" , "I hate pact, being disintersted" , "without interest" .)

Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app