In the following question, few sentences are given with two blanks in each. Select the pair of words that best completes both blanks in all the sentences, ensuring the sentences remain grammatically correct and contextually appropriate.


(I) After a sharp decline in sales, the leadership team moved quickly to __________ its __________, clarifying goals and timelines.
(II) The mayor’s address aimed to __________ public __________ in the safety of the new transit corridor.
(III) The revised prospectus seeks to __________ investor __________ ahead of the listing.

Correct option is A

Option a is the correct answer.
Fill with (a): bolster, confidence
· (I) After a sharp decline in sales, the leadership team moved quickly to bolster its confidence, clarifying goals and timelines.
· (II) The mayor’s address aimed to bolster public confidence in the safety of the new transit corridor.
· (III) The revised prospectus seeks to bolster investor confidence ahead of the listing.
Why it works:
· Collocation: bolster confidence is a strong, standard pairing meaning “to strengthen/restore belief or trust.”
· Tone & logic: All three contexts (management post-decline, public trust in safety, investor sentiment pre-listing) aim to increase trust—not reduce it—so a positive, strengthening verb is required.
Meanings:
· bolster (v.) = strengthen, support, reinforce. Synonyms: fortify, buttress, shore up.
· confidence (n.) = trust, belief, assurance. Antonyms: doubt, mistrust, skepticism.
Other options:
· (b) feeble, credibility — Incorrect
· Part of speech error: feeble is an adjective, but the first blank needs a verb (“to ____ its ____”).
· Semantics: “to feeble its credibility” is ungrammatical; also “public credibility in the safety” is odd.
· (c) dilute, momentum — Incorrect
· Collocation mismatch in (II) & (III): “public momentum in the safety” / “investor momentum ahead of the listing” are unnatural; these contexts call for confidence, not “momentum.”
· Logic: after a decline, leadership wouldn’t try to dilute anything.
· (d) robust, risk — Incorrect
· Part of speech error: robust is an adjective, not a verb for the first blank.
· Collocation: “robust risk” is awkward; (II) “public risk in the safety” is illogical.
· (e) compromise, standing — Incorrect
· Semantics: compromise means “to weaken/damage,” which clashes with the positive aims in all three sentences.
· Collocation: “public standing in the safety” is unnatural; standing = reputation/status, not what we typically place “in the safety of …”.
Therefore, only (a) — bolster, confidence — correctly and naturally completes all three sentences.