What is a synonym for targeting the most “innocent” people?
1) Victimizing the most “naive” individuals
2) Focusing on the most “guileless” individuals
3) Singling out the most “unblemished” individuals
4) Targeting the most “pure” individuals
The Correct Answer and Explanation is :
All the phrases you’ve provided convey slightly different nuances, but the closest synonym for “targeting the most innocent people” is “victimizing the most naive individuals.”
Here’s why:
- Victimizing: This word is a direct substitute for “targeting” when the intent is malicious. When someone targets innocent individuals, especially with harmful actions, it’s often called “victimizing.” This word emphasizes that harm is being done to the people in question.
- Naive: Innocence often refers to a lack of worldliness, sophistication, or experience, which is the essence of naivety. While “innocent” can imply moral purity, in contexts where people are targeted, it usually refers to those who are unknowing, inexperienced, and easily misled, i.e., naive. Naivety captures this sense of vulnerability and susceptibility to exploitation.
Why the other options are less fitting:
- Focusing on the most guileless individuals: “Guileless” refers to someone who is sincere and without deceit, but it doesn’t always suggest vulnerability. The phrase works, but it lacks the connotation of susceptibility to being harmed, making it less impactful in terms of describing exploitation or targeting.
- Singling out the most unblemished individuals: “Unblemished” usually refers to purity or moral integrity rather than innocence or naivety. It emphasizes moral perfection rather than vulnerability, so it’s not quite the right fit in a context about targeting innocent people.
- Targeting the most pure individuals: Purity is more about moral or spiritual innocence. While it’s a valid term, “pure” can imply wholesomeness without necessarily suggesting the vulnerability or lack of experience that “innocent” and “naive” convey.
Thus, “victimizing the most naive individuals” is the most accurate synonym for the original phrase.