Question

Find the synonym of the underlined word.
The hurricane that hit the city had a catastrophic effect because most of the buildings were constructed of wood.
a)categories
b)disastrous
c)frightening
d)blowing
e)strenuous

Answer 1

Hint: A catastrophe means a disaster. The adjective form of catastrophe is catastrophic.

Complete step-by-step answer:

A synonym is a word that is similar to the meaning of another word.
Since we know the meaning of catastrophic already, we can find out the synonym from the given words. The correct option is option b which says disastrous. Therefore, the sentence means that the hurricane was disastrous because most of the buildings were made of wood.
Option a is categories. It makes no sense in relation to the given word and sentence.
Option c is frightening. Something scary is frightening. Scary and frightening are similar words and are thus synonyms. It is not appropriate as a synonym for catastrophic in this sentence.
Option d is blowing. Blowing is an action through which wind moves from one place to another. Though the given sentence talks about a hurricane, we need to focus on the meaning of ‘catastrophic’. Thus, it is not the correct option.
Option e is strenuous. A strenuous job is something that requires a lot of your energy and puts a strain on you. For example, the new job I am working at is very strenuous since I have to work for it till 2 in the night. This word is not appropriate as well as a synonym for the word catastrophic.

Note: Students might be confused between option b (disastrous) and option c (frightening). In such cases, read the sentence properly. The focus is on the fact that the houses were destroyed because of the hurricane. Thus, the correct answer will be disastrous.