Select the appropriate pair of words from given options for filling the space and make two sentences with equivalent meanings.

Many senior faculty members who were accustomed to being addressed in a more collegial and egalitarian manner were alienated by the __________ tone of the new department chair's introductory remarks.

The correct answer is Imperious and Peremptory.

Key Points

• Let's see the meaning of the given words.
• Sanguine - Optimistic or positive, especially in an apparently bad or difficult situation.
• Propitious - Giving or indicating a good chance of success; favorable.
• Saturnine - (of a person or their manner) slow and gloomy.
• Ignominious - deserving or causing public disgrace or shame.
• Imperious - Assuming power or authority without justification; arrogant and domineering.
• Peremptory - (especially of a person's manner or actions) insisting on immediate attention or obedience, especially in a brusquely imperious way.
• From the given statement we can see, that senior faculty members were used to egalitarian and collegial (relating to or involving shared responsibility, as among a group of colleagues) tones and were feeling estranged from the new department chair's tone which is naturally opposite to the collegial way, hence we need to use the words which represent the authoritative tones. 
• Hence, we can conclude that Imperious and Peremptory perfectly fit in the given context.