Unleash Your Imagination: Conquer the 2025 Creative Writing Practice Exam!

Question: 1 / 400

When expressing sympathy, mere words can do little to _____ someone's grief.

Exaggerate

Mitigate

Assuage

In the context of the sentence, the term that best fits the idea of helping alleviate or reduce someone's grief is 'assuage.' This word specifically means to soften or lessen the intensity of something unpleasant, such as grief. When someone experiences deep sorrow, mere words often fall short of fully addressing or lessening that pain, which aligns with the meaning of 'assuage.'

While 'mitigate' could also seem appropriate, as it suggests making something less severe, it is more commonly used in legal or technical contexts rather than emotional ones. 'Exaggerate' and 'enhance' both involve increasing or amplifying something, making them unsuitable, as the sentence is about the inadequacy of words to lessen grief rather than to intensify it. Therefore, 'assuage' accurately conveys the intent of offering comfort or relief in a sympathetic context.

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