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Question

Difficulty: MediumWord Formation: Prefixes, Suffixes, and Roots

During the peer review of the cosmological research paper, the lead astrophysicist remained ________ regarding the anomalous signal data, insisting on further empirical verification before accepting the discovery of a new celestial body. Which word, derived from the Latin root *cred-* ('to believe'), correctly completes the sentence to describe a person who is skeptical or unwilling to believe easily?

  1. incredulousAnswer
  2. B
    incredible
  3. C
    credulous
  4. D
    incredulity

Answer

The correct option is 'incredulous' because it accurately combines the negative prefix 'in-', the root 'cred-', and the adjectival suffix '-ulous' to describe an individual who exhibits skepticism.
The word 'incredulous' correctly applies the prefix 'in-' (not), the Latin root 'cred-' (believe), and the suffix '-ulous' (inclined to) to form an adjective that describes a person who is skeptical or doubtful. In this context, it properly modifies the subject 'astrophysicist'.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the syntactic slot and semantic context
The blank follows the linking verb 'remained' and describes the attitude of the astrophysicist towards unexpected data, requiring a predicate adjective meaning 'skeptical' or 'unbelieving'.
Determines the necessary part of speech and specific semantic nuances.
2
Deconstruct morphological affixes and roots
Root *cred-* ('believe') + prefix *in-* ('not') + suffix *-ulous* ('disposed to') = *incredulous* (disposed to not believe / skeptical).
Synthesizes the precise affixation required for the contextual definition.
3
Differentiate from paronyms and incorrect grammatical forms
'Incredible' (-ible = capable of being) describes an unbelievable phenomenon, not a person's state of mind. 'Incredulity' (-ity = noun state) creates a syntactic error.
Eliminates distractors based on paronym confusion and suffix/category mismatch.

Key Concept

Morphological Derivation and Paronym Differentiation (Prefixes, Suffixes, and Roots)
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Topics

Word Formation: Prefixes, Suffixes, and Roots

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