Select the correct option: The professor's remarks were so dense with jargon that they bordered on .
English Comprehension ·Previously asked in SSC CGL 2025
View the full solved paper: SSC CGL 2025 Tier I - 13 Sep 2025, Shift 1 (13 Sep 2025, Shift 1)
Question
Select the correct option:
The professor's remarks were so dense with jargon that they bordered on .
- A. opacity (Correct answer)
- B. opaque
- C. opacus
- D. opalescent
Correct Answer
Option A — opacity
Detailed Solution & Explanation
The correct answer is opacity.
Key Points
- The phrase "bordered on ___" requires a noun, since *on* is a preposition and must take a noun as its object.
- Opacity is the noun — the quality of being impenetrable or difficult to understand, which fits remarks dense with jargon.
- Opaque is the adjective, opacus is Latin rather than English, and opalescent means showing shifting rainbow colours, which is unrelated.
Additional Information
- Deciding the required part of speech from the surrounding structure is the fastest route through fill-in-the-blank questions, often before considering meaning at all.
- The family here: opaque (adj.), opacity (n.), opaquely (adv.) — and note the spelling shift from *-que* to *-city*.
- Similar noun-forming patterns: *scarce → scarcity*, *tenacious → tenacity*, *audacious → audacity*, *veracious → veracity*.
Topics covered: Sentence Completion Word Forms