Multiple choice

Directions: Choose appropriate meaning of the words in bold as per their contextual use.

She spoke scathingly of the poor standard of work done by her predecessor.

  1. ironically

  2. gently

  3. caustically

  4. mildly
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Scathingly means in a bitterly critical or harsh manner. The context is criticizing someone's work quality as 'poor standard' - 'caustically' captures this harsh criticism perfectly. 'Ironically' means opposite to expected, 'gently' and 'mildly' are too soft for the critical context.

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