Question

Choose the word which best expresses the meaning of the italicized part of the sentence.
A generation ago, parents would not tolerate such egregious behaviour, but nowadays they just smile and say that it’s just a phase all adolescents go through.
a. indolent
b. impertinent
c. unwanted
d. outrageous

Answer 1

Hint: The italicised word is egregious. The word means something which is very bad so as to shock someone. It is usually used to refer to behaviour and actions of people. It is an adjective.

Complete answer:
Let us look at the various options and find the correct answer by seeing which word means the closest to the given word and fits the context of the sentence as well.
a. The word indolent means lazy. For example, the child was so indolent that his parents were fed up of asking him to do anything. However, this is not shocking behaviour. Thus, this is not the correct answer.
b. Option b is impertinent. If you call Mary an impertinent child, you mean she is a rude child who does not know how to show respect to others. This is not the correct answer for egregious.
c. Option c is unwanted. The word means exactly how it sounds. Something which is unwanted means it is not wanted. People avoided talking to Prashant because he was always giving people unwanted advice. Thus, option c is very much a wrong answer.
d. Option d is outrageous. Outrageous refers to anything which shocks someone. Thus, it means similar to the word egregious since even for the word egregious we used the word “shocking” to define it. Thus, the correct answer is option d, that is, outrageous.

Note: Many students may get confused between the words egregious and gregarious. A gregarious person is a sociable person while egregious means shockingly bad. Also, students can narrow down to the correct answer by seeing the context in which the word has been used in the given sentence.