Question

Choose the word which best expresses the meaning of the italicised bold part of the sentence:
We must not take his facetious remarks very seriously.
a) amusing
b) critical
c) casual
d) flippantly humorous

Answer 1

Hint: The word ‘facetious’ refers to ‘treating serious issues with deliberately inappropriate humour'. This word is usually used as an adjective. Another synonym of this word is ‘frivolous’.

Complete answer:
 Synonyms are words or phrases that mean exactly or nearly the same as another word or phrase in the same language. For example, the words ‘try’, ‘attempt’, and ‘endeavour’ are all synonyms of each other.

The word in the given sentence is used in a specific context. This means that the word that is italicised is an adjective that describes the noun ‘remarks’. So, the sentence is trying to convey the fact that ‘his remarks’ are to be taken with a grain of salt.

Now, we know the meaning and usage of the given word. Let’s look at the given options:

a) amusing - The word ‘amusing’ refers to ‘causing laughter and providing entertainment'. This word has a completely different meaning to the given word. This is not the synonym of ‘facetious’. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
b) critical - The word ‘critical’ refers to ‘expressing adverse or disapproving comments or judgements'. This word has a very different meaning to the given word. This is not the synonym of ‘facetious’. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
c) casual - The word ‘casual’ refers to ‘relaxed and unconcerned'. This word has a completely unrelated meaning to the given word. This is not the synonym of ‘facetious’. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
d) flippantly humorous - The phrase ‘flippantly humorous’ refers to ‘tongue-in-cheek humour, inappropriate humour’. This has the same exact meaning as the given word. This is the synonym of the given word. This is the required answer. So, this is the correct option.

Note:
 Try to understand the meaning of the word, as accurately as possible, with the help
of the sentence. Then, go through the options one by one and choose the word similar in
meaning to the given word, i.e. a synonym.