Read the passage and answer the questions:
It is with the gravest import that we relay intelligence from the Continent, where the machinations of foreign Powers betoken a perturbation most grievous to the tranquillity of Europe. Reports reaching our office, albeit through channels of dubious veracity, intimate that certain Ministers of State, long disaffected, have entered into clandestine parley, thereby imperilling the precarious Peace recently brokered at Amiens. The populace, though desirous of repose after protracted tumult, remains uneasy; their apprehensions stoked by pamphleteers whose incendiary declamations find ready purchase amongst the credulous.
Meanwhile, at Westminster, the Commons are engaged in fervid debate upon the propriety of augmenting naval armaments, lest perfidious designs render our shores vulnerable. It is the sentiment of many learned gentlemen that vigilance, tempered with prudence, is the surest safeguard against the perfidy of hostile ambition. Further dispatches are awaited with no small degree of trepidation.
In the sentence 'Lest the citizenry be lulled into complacency by the perfidious designs of foreign agitators,' the word 'Complacency' is:
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Explanation
Correct Answer
Noun
Explanation
The word complacency refers to a state of uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one's achievements. Grammatically, it follows the preposition 'into,' which requires an object. Since only a noun or pronoun can act as the object of a preposition, 'complacency' functions as a noun in this context. Additionally, words ending with the suffix '-ency' are typically abstract nouns.
Key Points
Word: Complacency
Meaning: A feeling of smug or uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one's situation.
Contextual Clue: Positioned after the preposition 'into' (lulled into something), marking it as a noun.