Question

Identify the onomatopoeic word(s):
He could barely hear the mumbling through the pitter-patter of the rain outside:
A. mumbling, pitter-patter
B. mumbling, rain
C. barely, pitter-patter
D. pitter-patter

Answer 1

Hint: An onomatopoeic word is used as an imitation of the sound that a certain occurrence/thing/creature makes.These words are the phonetic indication of the exact sounds produced by those particular occurrences/things/creatures.

Complete step by step answer:
The sentence means that the sound of the raindrops outside was so loud that the person could not hear the mumbling that was happening inside. The sentence conveys that there were two sounds, one sound that was louder which made it impossible to hear the other sound. The two sounds here were ‘mumbling’ and ‘pitter-patter’. It is easy to assume that the two words are onomatopoeic.
The correct answer is ‘pitter-patter. It is the only right answer out of the two sound related words because it is a literal imitation of the sound that raindrops make when they fall on different surfaces,especially on the ground or bare earth.
Let’s observe the word ‘mumbling’ which may seem like a right answer, but is not. Mumbling by definition means, to say something in a manner that is not clear and unintelligible with an almost closed mouth, like under one’s breath which is not be audible.Although the word means it is a sound,it is not the right answer because it is not a phonetic imitation of a particular sound as such.

Thus, the correct option is A.

Note:
A few examples of onomatopoeic words - hiss of a snake, honk by a vehicle, whoosh by a gust of air, etc.