Question

Find the synonym of the underlined phrase.
It has just crossed my mind that they might want to accompany us.
a) occurred to me
b) made me anxious
c) happened
d) reminded
e) escaped my attention

Answer 1

Hint: The phrase ‘crossed my mind’ refers to ‘(of a thought) come to one’s mind, especially transiently'. The phrase is used frequently in place of its more colloquially used meaning. It basically means ‘to have thought of’.

Complete answer:
A synonym is a word or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word or phrase in the same language, for example, ‘shut’ is a synonym of ‘close’, as they convey the same exact meaning as each other.
In the given sentence, the phrase ‘crossed my mind’ is used to illustrate that the subject suddenly remembered the situation mentioned in the given sentence.
Now, we know the meaning and usage of the given phrase. Let’s look at the given options-
a) occurred to me - This phrase refers to ‘something has come to mind'. This word has the exact same meaning as the given phrase. This is the synonym of ‘crossed my mind’. This is the required answer. So, this is the correct option.
b) made me anxious - This phrase refers to ‘made one full of mental distress or uneasiness’. This word has a very different meaning to the given phrase. This is not the synonym of the given phrase. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
c) happened - This phrase refers to ‘took place; occurred’. This word has a very different meaning to the given phrase. This is not the synonym of the given phrase. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
d) reminded - This phrase refers to ‘caused (someone) to remember someone or something’. This word has a very different meaning to the given phrase. This is not the synonym of the given phrase. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
e) escaped my attention - This phrase refers to ‘to fail to be noticed by someone’. This word has a very different meaning to the given phrase. This is not the synonym of the given phrase. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.

Note:
Understand the meaning of the given sentence and go through the options one by one and guess the meaning of each phrase by using it in a sentence. Choose the option with the exact same meaning as the given word.