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That scholars from belligerent nations were not summarily
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07 Jun 2026, 08:42
07 Jun 2026, 08:42
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Question Stats:
18% (01:06) correct
81% (01:00) wrong based on 16 sessions
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That scholars from belligerent nations were not summarily ______ from the rolls of the International Congress of Mathematicians during either the Great War or the Cold War stands as a testament to the organization's founding charter, which enshrined scholarly inquiry as a borderless pursuit utterly divorced from political allegiance.
| Two Answers |
|---|
| A. purged |
| B. proscribed |
| C. disenfranchised | D. blackballed | E. excoriated |
| F. ostracized |
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Re: That scholars from belligerent nations were not summarily
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09 Jun 2026, 08:38
09 Jun 2026, 08:38
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Explanation
The sentence discusses how scholars from enemy ("belligerent") nations were not kicked out or excluded from the International Congress of Mathematicians, despite global conflicts. The missing word needs to mean removed, excluded, or expelled from a group or organization.
purged (A): Means to abruptly or violently remove people from an organization or leader's side. If scholars were "purged from the rolls," they would have been officially removed from the membership list.
ostracized (F): Means to exclude someone from a society or group. In this context, refusing to exclude them from the rolls fits perfectly.
proscribed (B): This means to forbid or outlaw a practice or action. You proscribe a behavior, you don't proscribe a person from a membership roll.
disenfranchised (C): This specifically means to deprive someone of the right to vote. While it deals with a loss of rights, it doesn't quite fit the physical removal from an organization's roster ("the rolls").
blackballed (D): This means to reject someone before they can join a club through a secret ballot. Since these scholars were already on the rolls, they couldn't be blackballed from them.
excoriated (E): This means to censure or criticize someone severely. It involves harsh words, not expulsion from a group.
Answer: A,F
The sentence discusses how scholars from enemy ("belligerent") nations were not kicked out or excluded from the International Congress of Mathematicians, despite global conflicts. The missing word needs to mean removed, excluded, or expelled from a group or organization.
purged (A): Means to abruptly or violently remove people from an organization or leader's side. If scholars were "purged from the rolls," they would have been officially removed from the membership list.
ostracized (F): Means to exclude someone from a society or group. In this context, refusing to exclude them from the rolls fits perfectly.
proscribed (B): This means to forbid or outlaw a practice or action. You proscribe a behavior, you don't proscribe a person from a membership roll.
disenfranchised (C): This specifically means to deprive someone of the right to vote. While it deals with a loss of rights, it doesn't quite fit the physical removal from an organization's roster ("the rolls").
blackballed (D): This means to reject someone before they can join a club through a secret ballot. Since these scholars were already on the rolls, they couldn't be blackballed from them.
excoriated (E): This means to censure or criticize someone severely. It involves harsh words, not expulsion from a group.
Answer: A,F
Re: That scholars from belligerent nations were not summarily
[#permalink]
10 Jun 2026, 04:00
10 Jun 2026, 04:00
1
Expert Reply
The Logical Context
The sentence describes an International Congress that, despite geopolitical conflicts, kept scholars from belligerent nations on its "rolls." The pivot point is the phrase "stands as a testament," which means the Congress's action (or lack thereof) proves its commitment to the principle that "scholarly inquiry" is a "borderless pursuit." Therefore, the blank must be filled by a word meaning "expelled" or "removed," as the sentence notes that this did not happen.
Why (A) and (F) are the Correct Pair
These two words are the only ones that satisfy both the definition of "forced removal" and the formal, institutional tone required by the GRE.
- (A) Purged: This is the most precise term for the systematic or forced removal of individuals from an official registry, list, or membership roll. It fits the academic and political gravity of the passage perfectly.
- (F) Ostracized: While it can refer to social exclusion, in a formal or institutional context, it means to exclude or cast out from a professional community or society. It accurately reflects the act of barring individuals based on political allegiance.
Why the Other Options Fail
In Sentence Equivalence, a word is incorrect if it does not share the same meaning as its pair, or if it is grammatically/stylistically wrong for the sentence.
- (B) Proscribed: This is a major distractor. Proscribe means to forbid an action or behavior (e.g., "The organization proscribed the use of propaganda"). You cannot grammatically "proscribe" a person from a list; you can only proscribe their participation. It fails due to collocation (the way words are grouped).
- (D) Blackballed: This is an idiom referring to an informal or secret voting process used in private clubs. It is far too colloquial and lacks the necessary professional "register" to describe an international academic body.
- (C) Disenfranchised: This refers specifically to the loss of a legal right, such as the right to vote. It does not fit the act of being removed from a registry or "rolls."
- (E) Excoriated: This means to criticize severely or berate. It describes verbal or written attacks, not the act of removing someone from a list.
The sentence describes an International Congress that, despite geopolitical conflicts, kept scholars from belligerent nations on its "rolls." The pivot point is the phrase "stands as a testament," which means the Congress's action (or lack thereof) proves its commitment to the principle that "scholarly inquiry" is a "borderless pursuit." Therefore, the blank must be filled by a word meaning "expelled" or "removed," as the sentence notes that this did not happen.
Why (A) and (F) are the Correct Pair
These two words are the only ones that satisfy both the definition of "forced removal" and the formal, institutional tone required by the GRE.
- (A) Purged: This is the most precise term for the systematic or forced removal of individuals from an official registry, list, or membership roll. It fits the academic and political gravity of the passage perfectly.
- (F) Ostracized: While it can refer to social exclusion, in a formal or institutional context, it means to exclude or cast out from a professional community or society. It accurately reflects the act of barring individuals based on political allegiance.
Why the Other Options Fail
In Sentence Equivalence, a word is incorrect if it does not share the same meaning as its pair, or if it is grammatically/stylistically wrong for the sentence.
- (B) Proscribed: This is a major distractor. Proscribe means to forbid an action or behavior (e.g., "The organization proscribed the use of propaganda"). You cannot grammatically "proscribe" a person from a list; you can only proscribe their participation. It fails due to collocation (the way words are grouped).
- (D) Blackballed: This is an idiom referring to an informal or secret voting process used in private clubs. It is far too colloquial and lacks the necessary professional "register" to describe an international academic body.
- (C) Disenfranchised: This refers specifically to the loss of a legal right, such as the right to vote. It does not fit the act of being removed from a registry or "rolls."
- (E) Excoriated: This means to criticize severely or berate. It describes verbal or written attacks, not the act of removing someone from a list.
