Select the word with the correct spelling from the following options.

Introduction / Context:

This spelling question checks your ability to recognise the standard correct form of common English words. Spelling accuracy is important for clear written communication, and competitive exams frequently include questions where you must spot the correctly or incorrectly spelled word. Here you must choose the only option that follows standard English spelling conventions.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Options: thrashere, fiefedoms, snifing, squashed.
• Exactly one option is correctly spelled in standard English.
• We assume the intended words are common vocabulary items that you are likely to have seen before in reading.

Concept / Approach:

The strategy for such questions is to identify the likely base words and recall how they are normally spelled. Non standard extra letters, missing letters, or wrong vowel combinations are typical traps. By comparing each option with the familiar correct forms, you can quickly eliminate the misspellings and choose the single correct one.

Step-by-Step Solution:

Verification / Alternative check:

You can verify by recalling common phrases. People talk about squashed tomatoes or squashed insects in everyday English. Dictionaries list squashed as the standard past tense and past participle form. On the other hand, neither thrashere nor fiefedoms nor snifing appear in standard dictionaries with those spellings. This confirms that only squashed is correct.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

Thrashere is wrong because English words ending in er typically do not use the ere pattern after sh here, and there is no common noun spelled thrashere.

Fiefedoms is wrong because the correct plural is fiefdoms, with dom indicating domain and no extra e between fief and dom.

Snifing is wrong because it omits necessary letters from sniffing, specifically one f and the second n, resulting in a non standard form.

Common Pitfalls:

Spelling questions often rely on your visual memory of words. A common mistake is to overthink and doubt even familiar words like squashed. Another pitfall is to focus only on one part of a word and overlook subtle errors such as missing consonants or extra vowels. Reading widely and paying attention to spelling in books, articles, and quality websites helps build a strong internal dictionary, making these questions easier over time.

Final Answer:

The correctly spelled word is squashed.