2014-10-24 09:00:30

At the Halloween party, most of the guests' faces were ______ by masks, so it was hard for everyone to recognize each other.

(A) implied
(B) delineated
(C) debilitated
(D) obviated
(E) obscured

The correct answer is E
Explanation: To find the missing word, try to predict its meaning by using keywords in the sentence. Here, the best clue comes in the final clause of the sentence: "so it was hard for everyone to recognize each other." This sets up a causal relationship between the clauses and implies that what the masks did to the guests' faces made it "hard for everyone to recognize each other." Thus, the masks must have hidden the faces, so the correct choice will provide a word similar in meaning to "hidden." Choice E is correct, then, as "obscured" means "covered up or concealed."

None of the other choices work, either:

implied: suggested or hinted at
delineated: described precisely
debilitated: weakened or infirm
obviated: prevented or avoided