Question

Choose the word which can be substituted for the given phrase/sentence:
A person guilty of malicious setting on fire of property, etc.
A. Plagiarist
B. Anarchist
C. Arsonist
D. Sadist

Answer 1

Hint: The given sentence “A person guilty of malicious setting on fire of property, etc”, implies a person who wilfully set something on fire. We will look for a word that means the same as the meaning of the given sentence so that the word can be substituted for the given sentence.

Complete step by step answer:
Let us discuss all the given options in detail to know the correct answer.
Plagiarist: Plagiarist means a person who practices plagiarism which means copying written data, any art form, and claim its existence. This word does not fulfill the meaning of the given sentence.
Anarchist: Anarchist means a person who practices anarchy which means a state without any governance, law, disorder. It means a state where you don’t obey or oblige. The meaning of this word doesn’t fulfill our motive.
Arsonist: An arsonist is a person who commits the crime of arson, which means the malicious burning of someone’s house or property intentionally. Therefore this word is the exact meaning of the given sentence.
Sadist: A sadist is a person who practices sadism, which means feeling pleasure by being cruel. This is not exactly what the sentence is trying to convey.

So, the correct answer is “Option C”.

Note:
Do not confuse the correct answer with the word ‘sadist’. Though burning someone’s house or property intentionally is a cruel act but ‘sadist’ does not refer to just one act of cruelty. Other synonyms of the word arsonist are firebug, incendiary.