Select the most appropriate synonym of the given word. Miraculous

Correct — C. Miraculous describes something that ordinary causes cannot account for — a survival, a recovery, an escape beyond explanation.

Incredible is literally not-believable, from Latin in- (not) + credere (to believe), and in use it labels that same class of event: too extraordinary to credit.

Both words point past what is possible or expected, so they meet on the sense of beyond belief. That is the reading the key takes: option (c).

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  Expected — Expected means foreseen or looked for, which is the opposite pole. A miracle is defined by the fact that nobody could have predicted it.
• (b)
  Average — Average means ordinary, typical, of the usual standard. Miraculous sits off that scale entirely, not at a point on it.
• (d)
  Draining — Draining means exhausting, using up energy. An event can be miraculous and draining at once, but the words measure different things — one wonder, the other fatigue.

A synonym item is decided by the core sense left when the emotional colour is stripped off a word.

Strip miraculous and what remains is: beyond what ordinary causes explain. Strip incredible and what remains is: beyond what belief will hold. Both land past the possible, so each can stand for the other.

Incredible has drifted in casual speech to mean simply excellent. The dictionary sense, not believable, is the one that matches here.

Key facts

• Miraculous means so extraordinary that ordinary causes cannot explain it.
• Incredible comes from Latin in- (not) plus credere (to believe).
• Credere also gives credible, credit, credentials and incredulous.
• Incredulous describes a person who will not believe, while incredible describes the thing not believed.

Common traps

• Reading the item as an antonym question, which is what expected and average are planted for
• Rejecting incredible as too casual because of its everyday use for excellent

No directly related past PYQ was found.