Select the most appropriate synonym of the underlined word. It takes time to adapt to a new environment.

Correct — B. The verb in the sentence is adapt to a new environment: to change yourself so that you fit new conditions.

Adjust carries that same sense and takes the same preposition — you adjust to a new environment.

The test for a synonym item is substitution. It takes time to adjust to a new environment reads exactly as the original does, which none of the other three manage. That is option (b).

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  Apply — Apply means to put something to use, or to make a formal request. Apply to a new environment does not mean fitting into it.
• (c)
  Understand — Understand is a mental grasp. You can understand an environment while changing nothing about yourself, which is precisely what adapt requires.
• (d)
  Control — Control reverses the direction. Adapting means you change to suit the surroundings, not that you bend the surroundings to suit you.

A synonym in context is not the dictionary's nearest word — it is the word that can replace the original in this sentence without changing what the sentence claims.

Two filters do most of the work. First, the preposition: adapt takes to, and so does adjust, while apply takes for or to in a different sense.

Second, the direction of the change: adapt puts the change in the person, not in the environment, which is what rules control out.

Key facts

• Adapt means to change so as to suit new conditions, and it is followed by to.
• Adopt means to take something up or take it on as your own.
• Adjust to and adapt to are close enough to swap in It takes time to ... a new environment.

Common traps

• Confusing adapt with adopt, which differ by one letter and share no meaning.
• Choosing a word that fits the noun environment rather than the verb adapt.
• Taking the widest word on offer when the sentence needs a specific one.

No directly related past PYQ was found.