Select the most appropriate synonym of the underlined word in the given sentence. This is a clear example of conflict of egos.

Correct — C. Conflict here means opposition between two forces, and clash is the everyday noun for exactly that.

English sets the phrase this way: a clash of egos, a clash of interests, a clash of dates. The word works for things that cannot physically touch.

That is the test a synonym has to pass in this sentence, and option (c) passes it.

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  mingling — Mingling is mixing together. Two egos that mingle are getting along, which is the friendly opposite of the conflict the sentence describes.
• (b)
  infliction — Infliction is the imposing of something painful on someone. It needs a doer and a victim, while a conflict of egos pushes in both directions at once.
• (d)
  crash — Crash names a collision or a collapse — vehicles, falling objects, a market. The fixed phrase is a clash of egos, never a crash of egos.

This synonym item is decided by collocation as much as by meaning. Several options sit close in the dictionary, and one keeps company with the noun in the sentence.

Clash and crash both grew from the idea of violent contact, and usage has split them. Crash names a collision or a sudden collapse. Clash names opposed forces meeting: a clash of cultures, of views, of personalities.

So read the underlined word inside its phrase, not on its own.

Key facts

• Clash means a hostile encounter or an incompatibility, and takes abstract nouns such as egos, interests and dates.
• Crash denotes physical collision or sudden collapse, as in a car crash or a market crash.
• Infliction is the act of imposing something unwelcome on another person.

Common traps

• Choosing crash because it is nearest to clash in sound
• Choosing mingling by reading the phrase as any interaction between two egos

No directly related past PYQ was found.