Question

I examined the list of possible careers, I felt downtrodden when I realized the exciting internships had already been assigned. The word downtrodden in this sentence from section two means A) unfortunate and miserable. B) full of anticipation. C) worried and fearful. D) angry and jealous.

Answer 1

Answer:

A) unfortunate and miserable.

Explanation:

The word "downtrodden" means oppression. Oppressed is an adjective used to define the individual who was humiliated or forced to submit to something or something that left him feeling unhappy and miserable.

Oppression is the feeling of being choked, having difficulty breathing, also in the figurative sense. Oppression makes people feel unhappy, humiliated and miserable because they can not do what they need or want.

Answer 2

A.    unfortunate and miserable

 

The best response is the first reply because downtrodden means trampled upon, crushed, depressed.  One way you can help yourself in the future when looking to determine the meaning of a word is to try to replace it with synonyms.  That said, if you replace “downtrodden” with “depressed” or “sad,” the sentence still makes perfect sense.  However, what if you don’t know synonyms?  In that case, try to look at the parts of the word.  For instance, the prefix of “downtrodden” is “down.”  That said, “down” is typically a word associated with “sad.”  Thus, one could make the connection that “downtrodden” is synonymous with “unfortunate” and/or “miserable.”