Fill in the blank with the appropriate word from the given options.

The newly admitted students walked into the college laboratory_____________.

hesitatingly

The correct word to fill in the blank is hesitatingly.

The word hesitatingly means in a hesitant or uncertain way. It is the most appropriate word to use in this context because it describes how the newly admitted students would be feeling as they walked into the college laboratory for the first time. They would be feeling uncertain and unsure of what to expect, so they would be walking hesitantly.

The other words do not fit the blank as well.

• Laboriously means in a slow and careful way.
• Surely means in a confident or unhesitating way.
• Piously means in a religious or devout way.