Why not obscure?

If it would have been obscure, his hostility wouldn't have been evident.

there is a semicolon in the prompt. so both the clauses will support each other. now since Despite... contrary is a double negative, we need something in the blank for that idea to go on. the whole line just means that though he said NO he was hostile. The only word in the first blank which goes with the whole idea is MANIFEST. once we figure out this, 2nd blank is quite easy. He was hostile, so he did not object to using those words. so 2nd blank is DEMUR AT

Post A Detailed Correct Solution For The Above Questions And Get Kudos.
Question From Our Project: Free GRE Prep Club Tests in Exchange for 20 Kudos

The correct words for the blanks are (i) manifest and (ii) demur at.

Breakdown of the Blanks
- Blank (i): A. manifest

The sentence begins with "Despite his insistence to the contrary," which sets up a contrast. The author claims he's not hostile, but his tone suggests otherwise. Manifest means clear or obvious to the eye or mind. His hostility was clearly evident despite his claims.
- Blank (ii): D. demur at

The second part of the sentence provides evidence of his hostility: he used "craven" and "illconceived" liberally. The blank needs a word that means he did not hesitate or object to using these words. Demur at means to raise doubts or objections. The sentence says he did not do this, meaning he had no hesitation in using the harsh language.

The Complete Sentence
"Despite his insistence to the contrary, the author's manifest hostility was evinced in the tone he used when describing the senator's qualifications; he did not demur at using words like "craven" and "ill-conceived" liberally when writing about the legislator's voting record."