Why is "schism" preferred over "demur" in this sentence?

Question

This is a verbal reasoning question in a GRE book. Obviously, the correct answer could only be A or B. And the explanation on the text book is "the correct answer is B".> Unenlightened authoritarian managers rarely recognize a crucial reason for the low levels of serious conflict among members of democratically run work groups: a modicum of tolerance for dissent often prevents ______.> A. demur B. schism C. cooperation D. compliance E. shortsightednessI know that *schism* does impose a stronger feeling, but I do not understand why I cannot choose A.

Answer 1

A "schism" refers to a break or division between strongly opposed groups.

"Demur" is the process of objecting or hesitating to something.

Let's look at the specific scenario more closely:

An authoritarian leader is going to be very strict & rigid ("you must obey me"). He doesn't realize that in democratic groups, the reason why people get along so well (group harmony) is that they can tolerate some dissent (some disagreement). Otherwise, people might break apart into separate factions or groups, and there will be no group harmony.

Does that make more sense why schism fits better?

Answer 2

Hello,

The reason you cannot choose demur has nothing to do with the meaning of the word.

You cannot choose demur and should choose schism only because demur is a verb form. A verb form cannot follow the word "prevents" which precedes it. The word "prevents" is a transitive verb, meaning it passes action on to a noun that follows. "Schism" is that noun.

Thank you.