Select the correct option: The startup scaled so rapidly that its infrastructure could ____ keep pace.
barely
The sentence describes infrastructure struggling but still managing to keep up with rapid scaling. We need an adverb meaning "only just; with difficulty".
• Barely — only just, with difficulty (idiomatic in "could barely keep pace"). ✓
• Merely — only / nothing more than (does not fit; conveys minimisation, not difficulty).
• Scarcely — has the right meaning but typically used as "could scarcely" with a slightly different register; not the best fit here.
• All but — means "almost completely", the opposite of what's intended.
Hence, the correct answer is barely.
Similar Questions
- Out of the four alternatives, choose the one which can be substituted for the given words/sentences.
A person who has lost the protection of the law - Out of the four alternatives, choose the one which can be substituted for the given words/sentences.
Falsification of documents etc. - Out of the four alternatives, choose the one which can be substituted for the given words/sentences.
To make atonement for one's sins Fill in the blank with the most appropriate option:
Rarely ____ such an overwhelming consensus among critics.
- Fill in the blank with the most appropriate phrasal verb:
The department was asked to ____ the outdated protocol. Select the correct option:
The reforms, while ostensibly motivated by economic exigencies, were in effect a veiled attempt to ____ dissent under the guise of austerity.
Select the correct option:
The scientist's hypothesis was not only radical but also diametrically ____ to the foundational assumptions of her discipline.
- Fill in the blank with the appropriate collocation:
She has a strong ______ of responsibility. - Select the correct option:
The director demanded the screenplay be revised to eliminate ___ dialogue. Select the correct option:
Only after years of archival research did the historian manage to ____ the contradictory accounts of the regime's collapse.
Important Questions from Fill in the Blanks
Directions: Fill in the blanks with the word that best completes the sentence.
At times he gets very angry, and then no one can_______ him.
Each of the following sentences has a blank space and four words are given below it. Select the word or group of words you consider most appropriate for the blank space and indicate your response accordingly.
Many people today have fallen into utter confusion of values with the result that they cannot______ the good from the bad.
Each of the following sentences has a blank space and four words are given below it. Select the word or group of words you consider most appropriate for the blank space and indicate your response accordingly
If Mohan________ at 5 a.m., he would not have missed the train.
Each of the following sentences has a blank space and four words are given below it. Select the word or group of words you consider most appropriate for the blank space and indicate your response accordingly.
His property was divided ______ his daughters and sons.
Each of the following sentences has a blank space and four words are given below it. Select the word or group of words you consider most appropriate for the blank space and indicate your response accordingly
His persistence in his misdemeanours has lowered him in the________ of everyone who knows him.
