Question

Find out the incorrectly spelled word

• A. acrobatic
• B. aerobatic
• C. agnostic
• D. antibiatic

Hint:

Break medical and technical terms down to their Greek or Latin roots: 'anti-' means against, and '-biotic' comes from 'bios' meaning life. Therefore, it is always spelled with an 'o'.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

Concept: Spelling tests assess the structural awareness of prefixes, suffixes, and root forms of technical, everyday, or medical terminology. Finding an incorrectly spelled word requires verifying the vowel combinations and phonetic layout of each option.

Step 1: Evaluation of each word individually.
Let us analyze the structure and meaning of each word provided in the option list to confirm its validity:

• Option (A) acrobatic: This is spelled correctly. It is an adjective relating to spectacular gymnastic feats, originating from the Greek root word 'akros' meaning high or topmost.

• Option (B) aerobatic: This is spelled correctly. It represents spectacular maneuvers, such as loops or spins, performed by aircraft in flight. It is a portmanteau combining 'aerospace' or 'aero' with 'acrobatic'.

• Option (C) agnostic: This is spelled correctly. An agnostic is a person who believes that nothing is known or can be known of the existence or nature of God or of anything beyond material phenomena.

• Option (D) antibiatic: This is spelled incorrectly. The correct medical term is

antibiotic, where the suffix contains an 'o' instead of an 'a'. It refers to a substance used to destroy or inhibit the growth of microorganisms.

Step 2: Identifying the error.
The incorrect spelling uses 'ia' in the final syllable block instead of 'io'. \[ \text{Incorrect Formulation: } \text{a-n-t-i-b-i-\textbf{a}-t-i-c} \] \[ \text{Correct Formulation: } \text{a-n-t-i-b-i-\textbf{o}-t-i-c} \] Thus, Option (D) contains the incorrectly spelled word.