ShmoopTube

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Getting shmoopy with it... Which word could fill in the blank so that

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the sentence below makes sense?

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Instead of helping to clarify the findings of the study, the new data seemed only to

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blank the results, and make it difficult for the researchers to draw a conclusion.

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And here are the potential answers...

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Once we lay our eyes on the word "instead," we know we're on the hunt for a word that

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means the opposite of "clarify." "Expound" kinda sounds like "explain" and

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has a similar meaning, so (A) is out of the picture.

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We can eliminate (B) because "redress" means to fix an error.

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Not unlike finding another outfit when we realize that the one we're wearing is hideous.

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(C) is out because "malign" means to criticize someone meanly.

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While (D) might be tempting because "repudiate" means to contradict or deny, something that

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would definitely make life harder for the researchers...

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It just doesn't quite fit. "Obfuscate" may seem like a weird word,

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but it refers to making something unclear or confusing...

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So choice (E) is the perfect fit.

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Isn't it nice to know that everybody fits somewhere?

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