Verbal Ability - Question of the Day

Question:-
Fill in the blanks in the passage with the most appropriate set of words from the options for each blank.

Thousands of civilians are trapped, with ____ supplies of clean water and food. Hundreds are alleged to have been killed or ___. Considering the fact that the two previous offensives in Swat failed, leaving the locals slightly furious, the current one may not achieve much. It risks leaving Swatis more ___ with their government and more ___ than ever, hardening the Taliban’s hold over the region.

OPTIONS

1) meager, mutilated, dejected, melancholy
2) dwindling, maimed, angry, vengeful
3) bountiful, handicapped, wrathful, vengeful
4) waning, maimed, angrier, malevolent
5) declining, incapacitated, mirthful, vindictive

Solution
‘Supplies of clean water and food’ in this context cannot be ‘bountiful’ when civilians are trapped. Thus, option 3 is eliminated.
‘Mutilated’, ‘maimed’ and ‘incapacitated’ all  mean ‘to deprive the use of some body part by wounding’ and fit into the second blank.
The Swatis cannot be ‘mirthful’,  which means ‘joyous’, eliminating option 5.
'More angrier' is incorrect grammar due to double comparison. Eliminate option 4.
Option 1 is eliminated since the Swatis were angry with their government and not sad. ‘Dejected’ and ‘melancholy’ both mean ‘sad’ or ‘depressed’.
‘Malevolent’ means ‘to wish harm to others’ whereas ‘vengeful’ means ‘to seek vengeance’ or become ‘revengeful’.
Hence, the correct answer is option 2.