Question 53·Medium·Words in Context
In art historian Amrita Patel’s analysis of painter Diego Rivera’s murals, Patel notes that Rivera sought to ______ redefine public art, shifting it from private collections to works integrated into everyday civic life.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
For words-in-context questions, first read the full sentence and use surrounding phrases (especially after commas or dashes) to decide what idea the blank should express—such as big vs. small change, positive vs. negative tone, or intentional vs. random action. Put your own rough word in the blank (e.g., “completely,” “slightly,” “randomly”), then eliminate choices whose meanings don’t fit that idea or contradict the sentence’s tone, and finally pick the one remaining word that best matches both the meaning and intensity implied by the context.
Hints
Use the second half of the sentence
Focus on the phrase after the comma: “shifting it from private collections to works integrated into everyday civic life.” What does this tell you about how big the change is?
Think about the scale of the redefinition
Is Rivera making a small adjustment, acting randomly, or making a deep and significant change to what public art is?
Match the tone and purpose
Rivera “sought to redefine” public art in a specific way. Which word describes a strong, purposeful transformation, rather than careful detail work, randomness, or something that is only true in name?
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the sentence context
Read the whole sentence and focus on what Rivera is doing: he “sought to ______ redefine public art, shifting it from private collections to works integrated into everyday civic life.” This shows he is changing not just details, but the basic way public art exists in society.
Infer the type of change described
Moving art from private collections to everyday civic spaces is a big, structural shift. The sentence suggests a major and fundamental redefinition of public art, not something small, random, or only in name.
Check each option’s meaning against the context
Now think about the meanings:
- A word meaning carefully or with great attention to detail would focus on how he worked, not on how big the change was.
- A word meaning randomly or unpredictably would not match a purposeful redefinition of public art.
- A word meaning in name only, but not in reality is the opposite of what the sentence shows, because here the change is clearly real and visible. You need the adverb that fits a deep, far-reaching change.
Select the best-fitting choice
The only option that means changing something in a fundamental, far-reaching way is “radically”, so the correct answer is B) radically.