Felix is writing an essay about cleaning products and how safe they are. He writes the following sentence:

Question

After the bleach was poured around the fixtures, the marks that rusted over the drain dissolved.

Felix wants to replace the word rusted, so he uses his thesaurus and finds the following entries:

rust, v. corrode, oxidize, tarnish
rust, n. corrosion, oxidation, decay, decomposition

Which word would best replace rusted in the original sentence?
A.
corroded
B.
decay
C.
corrosion
D.
oxidation

Answer 1

The best word to replace "rusted" in the original sentence is A. corroded.

The sentence would then read: "After the bleach was poured around the fixtures, the marks that corroded over the drain dissolved." This choice maintains the meaning and fits the context of the sentence. "Corroded" is a verb that describes the process of deterioration similar to rusting, whereas the other options do not fit grammatically as replacements for "rusted."