Spot the correct spelling of a drug hallucination adj.

Correct — C. Build the word from its parts: hallucin- (as in hallucination) + the linking vowel -o- + -genic, 'producing'.

hallucin + o + genic = Hallucinogenic, 'producing hallucinations' → option (c).

The noun hallucinogen carries the same -o-gen- core, so if you can spell the noun you can spell the adjective.

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  Hallucinagenic — Hallucinagenic puts an a where the linking vowel must be o. The noun is hallucinogen, never hallucinagen, and the adjective keeps its o.
• (b)
  Hallucinognic — Hallucinognic drops the e of -gen-. The suffix is -gen- plus -ic, as in the noun hallucinogen, so the e must stay.
• (d)
  Halluscinogenic — Halluscinogenic inserts an s before the c. The root is spelled as in hallucination, hallu-cin, with no s.

A spelling item on a long technical word is safest done by morphemes, not by memory of the whole shape. Hallucinogenic splits into hallucin- + -o- + -gen- + -ic.

Each wrong option breaks exactly one of those parts: the linking vowel, the e of -gen-, or the root.

The suffix -genic means producing or causing, as in carcinogenic, 'causing cancer'. The noun hallucinogen names a drug that causes hallucinations, such as LSD.

Key facts

• Hallucinogenic means causing hallucinations.
• Its noun is hallucinogen, a drug such as LSD that causes hallucinations.
• The suffix -genic means producing or causing, as in carcinogenic.
• The root is spelled as in hallucination: double l, single c, no s.

Common traps

• Choosing Hallucinagenic, because the unstressed middle vowel sounds the same whether it is spelled a or o
• Checking only the start of the word and missing the dropped e in Hallucinognic

No directly related past PYQ was found.