Select the correct spelling to fill in the blank. When numerous ideas are presented in a historical context, more than mere ______ can be seen.

Correct — D. The word is parallel plus -ism, and that suffix adds nothing to the stem and takes nothing away.

Parallel carries three l's — two side by side in the middle, then one alone at the end: p-a-r-a-l-l-e-l.

Keep that pattern and add the suffix, and the spelling is parallelism — option (d).

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  parollelism — Replaces the second vowel with an o. The stem is parallel, whose first two vowels are both a.
• (b)
  paralialism — Inserts an i that does not belong and breaks up the double l. Parallel has no i before the suffix.
• (c)
  paralelism — Has a single l where parallel has two. This is the closest near miss, right in every other letter, so it survives a quick glance.

Parallelism is parallel plus -ism, and -ism attaches to a complete word without altering it, exactly as in real to realism and ideal to idealism.

So the whole item reduces to the spelling of parallel: one r, then a doubled l, then a single l — p-a-r-a-l-l-e-l.

A workable hook is that the two l's in the middle stand side by side, which is what parallel lines do.

Key facts

• Parallel is spelt p-a-r-a-l-l-e-l: a doubled l in the middle, then a single l at the end.
• The suffix -ism attaches without altering the stem, giving parallelism.
• Paralelism, with a single middle l, is the distractor closest to the correct spelling.

Common traps

• Doubling the final l as well and writing parallell before the suffix.
• Choosing paralelism, which is correct in every letter except the missing middle l.

No directly related past PYQ was found.