Question:
MacCrory's conversation was ------: she could never tell a story, chiefly because she always forgot it, and she was never guilty of a witticism, unless by accident.
MacCrory's conversation was ------: she could never tell a story, chiefly because she always forgot it, and she was never guilty of a witticism, unless by accident.
Show Hint
A colon (:) often acts as an "equals sign" in sentence completion questions. The part of the sentence after the colon defines, explains, or elaborates on the word in the blank before it.
Updated On: Oct 1, 2025
- scintillating
- unambiguous
- perspicuous
- stultifying
- facetious
Show Solution
Verified By Collegedunia
The Correct Option is D
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The sentence provides a definition or description immediately after the blank, signaled by the colon. The word in the blank must be a summary of the description that follows: she can't tell stories, forgets them, and isn't witty.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
The description paints a picture of someone whose conversation is extremely boring, dull, and unengaging. We need a vocabulary word that means exactly that.
Let's analyze the options:
- (A) scintillating: This means sparkling or brilliant with wit. It is the exact opposite of the description.
- (B) unambiguous: This means clear and not open to more than one interpretation. It does not relate to being interesting or boring.
- (C) perspicuous: This is a synonym for unambiguous, meaning clearly expressed and easily understood. It also does not fit.
- (D) stultifying: This means causing to lose enthusiasm and initiative; making someone feel bored or drained of energy. This word perfectly summarizes the effect of a conversation with someone who can't tell stories and isn't witty.
- (E) facetious: This means treating serious issues with deliberately inappropriate humor. This does not match the description.
Step 3: Final Answer:
MacCrory's conversation was "stultifying" because it was boring and dull.
The sentence provides a definition or description immediately after the blank, signaled by the colon. The word in the blank must be a summary of the description that follows: she can't tell stories, forgets them, and isn't witty.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
The description paints a picture of someone whose conversation is extremely boring, dull, and unengaging. We need a vocabulary word that means exactly that.
Let's analyze the options:
- (A) scintillating: This means sparkling or brilliant with wit. It is the exact opposite of the description.
- (B) unambiguous: This means clear and not open to more than one interpretation. It does not relate to being interesting or boring.
- (C) perspicuous: This is a synonym for unambiguous, meaning clearly expressed and easily understood. It also does not fit.
- (D) stultifying: This means causing to lose enthusiasm and initiative; making someone feel bored or drained of energy. This word perfectly summarizes the effect of a conversation with someone who can't tell stories and isn't witty.
- (E) facetious: This means treating serious issues with deliberately inappropriate humor. This does not match the description.
Step 3: Final Answer:
MacCrory's conversation was "stultifying" because it was boring and dull.
Was this answer helpful?
0
0
Top GRE Verbal Reasoning Questions
- Some activists believe that because the health-care system has become increasingly ---- to those it serves, individuals must ---- bureaucratic impediments in order to develop and promote new therapies.
- The acts of vandalism that these pranksters had actually ---- were insignificant compared with those they had ---- but had not attempted.
- Though one cannot say that Michelangelo was an impractical designer, he was, of all nonprofessional architects known, the most ---- in that he was the least constrained by tradition or precedent.
- Before adapting to changes in values, many prefer to ----, to ---- the universally agreed-on principles that have been upheld for centuries.
- Although the records of colonial New England are ---- in comparison with those available in France or England, the records of other English colonies in America are even more ----.
View More Questions
Top GRE Sentence Completion Questions
- Some activists believe that because the health-care system has become increasingly ---- to those it serves, individuals must ---- bureaucratic impediments in order to develop and promote new therapies.
- The acts of vandalism that these pranksters had actually ---- were insignificant compared with those they had ---- but had not attempted.
- Though one cannot say that Michelangelo was an impractical designer, he was, of all nonprofessional architects known, the most ---- in that he was the least constrained by tradition or precedent.
- Before adapting to changes in values, many prefer to ----, to ---- the universally agreed-on principles that have been upheld for centuries.
- Although the records of colonial New England are ---- in comparison with those available in France or England, the records of other English colonies in America are even more ----.
View More Questions
Top GRE Questions
One pen costs \(\$\)0.25 and one marker costs \(\$\)0.35. At those prices, what is the total cost of 18 pens and 100 markers?
- Working alone at its constant rate, machine A produces kkk liters of a chemical in 10 minutes. Working alone at its constant rate, machine B produces kkk liters of the chemical in 15 minutes. How many minutes does it take machines A and B, working simultaneously at their respective constant rates, to produce kkk liters of the chemical?
- If the dollar amount of sales at Store P was $800,000 for 2006, what was the dollar amount of sales at that store for 2008?
- At Store T, the dollar amount of sales for 2007 was what percent of the dollar amount of sales for 2008? Give your answer to the nearest 0.1%.
- If the ratio of A to B is 3:4 and the ratio of B to C is 5:6, what is the ratio of A to C?
View More Questions