Question:medium

Choose the correct option out of the four choices given.
Our tragic experience in the recent past provides an index ______ the state of lawlessness in this region.

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Here "index" means an indicator or gauge. Ask which preposition follows "a measure ___ poverty" or "a sign ___ decay".
Updated On: Jul 17, 2026
  • of
  • in
  • at
  • by
Show Solution

The Correct Option is A

Solution and Explanation

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The question turns on the sense in which "index" is used. Once that is settled, the preposition follows on its own, since a word's meaning fixes the company it keeps.

Step 2: Key Formula or Approach:
Swap the noun for a plain synonym and see which preposition the synonym takes. If "index" here means indicator or measure, then whatever preposition follows "indicator" will follow "index" too.

Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
Read the sentence. A tragic experience is said to provide an index of something about the region, so "index" here means an indicator or a gauge, not a page list.
Now test with the synonym: "provides an indicator of the state of lawlessness". That is standard English, and the same shape appears in "a measure of poverty", "a mark of respect" and "a sign of decay". Each uses "of".
Try the synonym with the other options. "An indicator in the state of lawlessness" places the gauge inside the condition and loses the meaning. "An indicator at the state of lawlessness" is not English, since "at" wants a point in space or time. "An indicator by the state of lawlessness" makes the lawlessness the doer, which flips the sentence backwards.
Only "of" survives, giving "an index of the state of lawlessness in this region".

Step 4: Final Answer:
A noun meaning a sign or measure takes "of" before what it measures, so the answer is option (A), of.
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