Question:

Calvin’s mordant comment about his sister’s weight just as she was biting into the piece of cake cast a cloud over the birthday celebrations. Which of the following is the definition for the underlined word in the sentence above?

A biting

Explaination

The context of the sentence indicates that Calvin’s comment is anything but kind, so the closest adjective in this case is biting. There is nothing timely about his comment, at least in the sense of it being appropriate, so answer timely is incorrect. The context does not indicate that Calvin is concerned so much as critical, so answer concerned is incorrect. And the sentence in no way indicates that Calvin’s remark is effective, so answer effective is incorrect.