OE


The correct answer is (B) and (C), even though inconsequential to and deviant from are not even near-synonyms. Don’t worry too much yet about the best strategy to answer a question like this—we’ll go over that later on. For now, let’s just look at the correct and incorrect answer choices. In this example, each of the two correct answer choices is supported by a different clue in the sentence. Inconsequential to is supported by the fact that that the unconventional political ideology has yet to gather enough support to…replace existing ideologies.

Deviant from is supported by the fact that the new ideology has yet to be adopted by…existing ideologies. In this context, however, both words give the same general meaning to the completed sentence. Notice also the two synonyms, a threat to and foreboding to, lying in wait for the unwary test taker. These words may sound perfectly fine when plugged into the sentence, but they do not correspond to the clues in the sentence.