Question

What context clue best helps clarify the meaning of the word "odious" in this sentence from "The Black Cat," by Edgar Allan Poe?

I did not, for some weeks, strike, or otherwise violently ill use it; but gradually very gradually I came to look upon it with unutterable loathing, and to flee silently from its odious presence, as from the breath of a pestilence.

A. very gradually
b. to flee silently
c. unutterable loathing
d. look upon it

Answer 1

C. Unutterable loathing.

Odious is another word for repulsive. The narrator is calling whatever creature he's looking at's presence repulsive. You can tell the narrator feels this way by the way he looks at it with "unutterable loathing".

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

Answer: c.ununtterable loathing

Explanation: The context clue that best helps to clarify the meaning of the word "odious" in this sentence from "The Black Cat", by Edgar Allan Poe, is unutterable loathing. The narrator used to love Pluto, the black cat. But the cat's fondness for him makes him dislike it. This feeling begins to increase and it becomes hatred. Unutterable means that can not be expressed with words. Loathing means a strong feeling of hatred. These words help clarify the meaning of the word "odious".