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Difficulty: MediumCollocation and Idiomatic Fit

While the cabinet minister insisted that postponing the parliamentary vote was merely a procedural delay, critics argued that suppressing open debate on such critical legislation was effectively ________ a betrayal of foundational democratic principles.

Which of the following options best completes the sentence in accordance with standard academic English idiom and collocation?

  1. tantamount toAnswer
  2. B
    tantamount with
  3. C
    synonymous for
  4. D
    identical toward
  5. E
    equivalent of

Answer

The correct option is 'tantamount to', as 'tantamount' idiomatically requires the preposition 'to' to express functional equivalence in formal academic English.
The phrase 'tantamount to' is the standard, fixed idiomatic collocation used to indicate that one action is equivalent in force, value, or effect to another (e.g., 'tantamount to a betrayal').

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the semantic relationship established by the sentence structure.
The pivot word 'While' sets up a contrast between the minister's view ('procedural delay') and the critics' view ('effectively [equal to] a betrayal'). The blank requires a term meaning equivalent in effect or value.
Understanding the intended meaning narrows down the selection to words expressing equivalence.
2
Evaluate the idiomatic complementation required by each candidate word.
The adjective 'tantamount' standardly takes the prepositional complement 'to' ('tantamount to'). Alternatives like 'tantamount with', 'synonymous for', or 'identical toward' violate fixed prepositional collocations.
In GRE Text Completion, precise prepositional selection is mandatory for idiomatic correctness.
3
Confirm the final sentence coherence.
'...suppressing open debate on such critical legislation was effectively tantamount to a betrayal of foundational democratic principles.' is idiomatically precise and grammatically complete.
Verifies that both definition and prepositional fit are satisfied simultaneously.

Key Concept

Fixed Adjective-Preposition Collocations
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Topics

Collocation and Idiomatic Fit

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