Question 84·Hard·Words in Context
Environmental advocates warn that focusing on the latest eco-friendly gadget can ______ consumers into believing that purchasing new products—rather than reducing overall consumption—is the key to sustainability.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
For SAT Words-in-Context questions, always read the entire sentence and, if needed, the surrounding sentences to understand the situation and tone. Before looking at the choices, quickly paraphrase what kind of word should go in the blank (for example: a word that means "cause a wrong belief"). Then test each option in the sentence, checking both meaning and grammar: does it fit naturally with the words around it and match the author’s attitude (positive, negative, warning, etc.)? Eliminate choices that don’t fit the structure or change the logic of the sentence, and choose the one that matches your paraphrase most precisely.
Hints
Use the warning to identify the tone
Notice that environmental advocates "warn" about this effect. Is the result of focusing on gadgets described as something good/helpful for consumers, or as a problem?
Focus on the phrase after the blank
Look closely at "into believing that purchasing new products—rather than reducing overall consumption—is the key to sustainability." What kind of belief is this from the advocates’ point of view: accurate or mistaken?
Match each option to the sentence structure
Ask whether each verb can naturally fit with the phrase "consumers into believing" and describe what happens to their belief. Does it describe forcing them, inspiring them to act, reaching an endpoint, or something happening to their understanding?
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the situation in the sentence
Read the full sentence and paraphrase it:
Environmental advocates warn that focusing on the latest eco-friendly gadget can ______ consumers into believing that purchasing new products—rather than reducing overall consumption—is the key to sustainability.
Environmental advocates are warning about a problem. The problem is that people might start believing that buying new products is the key to sustainability, even though the advocates think the real key is reducing overall consumption.
Decide what kind of word is needed
Look closely at the phrase around the blank: "can ______ consumers into believing that purchasing new products ... is the key to sustainability."
The structure "[verb] consumers into believing" suggests the verb describes how consumers are led to hold a certain belief.
Because the advocates are warning about this, the effect on consumers is negative: they end up with the wrong idea about sustainability. A good paraphrase for the blank is something like:
can cause or lead consumers to believe (incorrectly) that buying new products is the key to sustainability.
Test the answer choices that clearly don’t match
Now, check options A–C against that meaning.
- A) galvanize means to shock or excite someone into taking action. That is about motivating action, not about causing someone to hold a mistaken belief. It doesn’t match the idea that the belief is wrong.
- B) obligate means to require or bind someone to do something (like a duty). The sentence is not about forcing consumers to act; it’s about what they come to believe.
- C) culminate means to reach the highest point or final stage of something. It doesn’t fit grammatically or logically with "consumers into believing"; you don’t "culminate consumers into believing" anything.
So A, B, and C do not match the needed meaning or fit smoothly with "into believing."
Confirm the remaining choice fits perfectly
The remaining choice is:
- D) delude – to mislead or trick someone into believing something that is not true.
This fits both the grammar and the meaning: "focusing on the latest eco-friendly gadget can delude consumers into believing that purchasing new products ... is the key to sustainability." It exactly matches the warning that consumers may be led to an incorrect belief.
Therefore, the correct answer is D) delude.