Question

Difficulty: MediumWord Formation: Prefixes, Suffixes, and Roots

The presiding magistrate was praised for her ________ handling of the volatile proceedings, maintaining order while upholding justice without partiality. Which word best completes the sentence?

  1. A
    judicial
  2. judiciousAnswer
  3. C
    judiciousness
  4. D
    extrajudicial

Answer

The correct option is 'judicious', which is an adjective derived from the root 'judic-' with the suffix '-ious', meaning showing good judgment or discretion.
The adjective 'judicious' is formed from the Latin root 'judic-' (judge/judgment) and the suffix '-ious' (characterized by). It means showing sound judgment and wise discretion, which accurately describes the magistrate's praised handling of the court case.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Determine the grammatical category required by the blank
The blank appears directly before the noun 'handling', requiring an adjectival modifier.
Understanding the syntactic structure of the sentence.
2
Analyze the morphological components of the target word
The root 'judic-' relates to judgment. Adding '-ious' creates an adjective meaning 'wise or prudent' ('judicious'), while adding '-ial' creates an adjective meaning 'pertaining to courts' ('judicial').
Differentiating between paronyms derived from the same base root using suffix rules.
3
Match the word meaning to sentence context
Praising a magistrate for maintaining order and upholding justice requires a word meaning prudent and wise, which is 'judicious'.
Selecting the semantically and grammatically accurate word form.

Key Concept

Paronym Affix Differentiation and Word Formation
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