The foreign minister was accused of trying to ______ tensions between the two neighboring states with inflammatory rhetoric.
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. exacerbate already precarious diplomatic ties
- Step 1: 'Exacerbate' means to increase the severity, bitterness, or violence of an already fraught situation. Using belligerent public rhetoric inflames nationalism and exacerbates delicate international crises. Answer: exacerbate already precarious diplomatic ties. Why not the others: "alleviate regional fears" means to make suffering, deficiency, or tension less severe, relieving anxiety; "mollify border disputes" means to appease the anger or anxiety of someone, soothing hostile tensions; "diffuse volatile anger" means to de-escalate, calm down, or disperse explosive tension safely.
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More Formal Registers and Precise Lexical Choice questions
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