Choose the most appropriate option to fill in the blank in the given sentence:
The invaders carried out______acts that shook the world.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → barbaric
Adjective before a noun:
- A word placed before a noun to describe it must be an adjective.
- Deciding clue: the noun "acts" right after the blank.
- The blank stands before the noun "acts"; barbaric is the adjective meaning extremely cruel and savage.
- Complete sentence: The invaders carried out barbaric acts that shook the world.
Example: The attack on the unarmed villagers was a barbaric crime.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: barbarism — Incorrect. Barbarism is a noun meaning a savage, uncivilised state or behaviour; a noun cannot describe "acts" here.
Example: The war pushed the region back into barbarism.
Option 2: barbarity — Incorrect. Barbarity is a noun meaning extreme cruelty; it fits the pattern "acts of barbarity", not "barbarity acts".
Example: The world was shocked by the barbarity of the massacre.
Option 3: barbarisation — Incorrect. Barbarisation is a rare noun for the process of making something barbaric; it cannot describe a noun.
Contrast: an adjective (barbaric) stands before a noun to describe it; barbarism, barbarity and barbarisation are nouns, as in "acts of barbarity".