Arrange the following words in the sequence in which they occur in the dictionary: i. Apparent ii. Appointed iii. Apostate iv. Apparel.

Introduction / Context:
Here you must order four words that all begin with Apo or App: Apparent, Appointed, Apostate and Apparel. Despite their similar appearance, they follow precise alphabetical rules when placed in a dictionary. Understanding how to compare words that share initial prefixes is a critical skill in many verbal reasoning and language usage questions.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The four labelled words are i. Apparent, ii. Appointed, iii. Apostate and iv. Apparel.
• Apostate begins with Apo, while the others begin with App.
• Dictionary ordering uses standard English alphabet rules, comparing from the first letter onward.
• The answer choices give possible sequences in terms of the labels.
• Exactly one option preserves the correct alphabetical ordering of all four words.

Concept / Approach:
Dictionary order is determined by comparing words character by character from left to right. At the first position where letters differ, the word with the earlier letter comes first. Because Apo has the third letter o, and App has the third letter p, any word starting with Apo will appear before words starting with App. After that, the App words must be sorted among themselves using the same method. After establishing the word order, convert it back to label order.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Write the words: Apparent, Appointed, Apostate and Apparel. Compare Apostate with Apparent and Apparel. At the third letter, Apostate has o while the others have p, and o comes before p, so Apostate (iii) is first. Now order the App words: Apparel and Apparent both start with Appare, but Apparel ends with l while Apparent continues with nt, and l comes before n, so Apparel (iv) comes before Apparent (i). Appointed begins with Appoi, in which the fourth letter is o, whereas Apparel and Apparent have a at that position, so both Apparel and Apparent come before Appointed (ii). Putting it all together, the dictionary order is Apostate, Apparel, Apparent, Appointed which corresponds to iii, iv, i, ii.

Verification / Alternative check:
List the words in the derived order: Apostate, Apparel, Apparent, Appointed. Check quickly in a mental dictionary. All Apo words should appear before App words because o comes before p at the third letter, so Apostate must be first. Among the App words, Apparel versus Apparent is decided near the end, where l precedes n. Appointed contains the letter sequence oi at the fourth and fifth positions, which clearly comes after appare and appare, placing it last. This confirms that the sequence is consistent and no word is out of place.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option A starts with Appointed, which contradicts the fact that Apostate, with the earlier letter o at the third position, must come first. Option B and option D place the words in orders that either delay Apostate or misplace Apparel relative to Apparent. Option B, for instance, begins with Apostate but places Appointed before Apparel, which is inconsistent with the letter by letter comparison. Option E, None of these, is incorrect because option C exactly matches the correct order iii, iv, i, ii.

Common Pitfalls:
People often assume that all App words will come together and that Apostate will somehow appear later, simply because it looks different. Others fail to check beyond the first three or four letters, missing subtle differences that change ordering. A robust way to avoid such mistakes is to write each word on a separate line and visually compare them character by character, marking the first point of difference each time.

Final Answer:
The correct dictionary order is Apostate, Apparel, Apparent, Appointed, which corresponds to the label sequence iii, iv, i, ii.