Arrange Forest, Fascinating, Fantastic and Fabulous in dictionary order and choose the correct sequence.

Introduction / Context:
This verbal reasoning question asks you to arrange four words in dictionary order: Forest, Fascinating, Fantastic and Fabulous. All the words begin with the letter “F”, and three of them share the “Fa” prefix, so the correct ordering depends on careful analysis of subsequent letters. Being comfortable with such letter by letter comparisons helps you handle dictionary based ordering tasks encountered in many competitive examinations.

Given Data / Assumptions:
Index mapping:
1: Forest
2: Fascinating
3: Fantastic
4: Fabulous
Options such as 4,3,2,1 represent possible dictionary orders.
We assume standard English dictionary rules, comparing from the first letter onwards, and placing shorter words first when one is a strict prefix of another.

Concept / Approach:
Because all words start with F, we move to the second letter. Forest has “Fo”, while the other three have “Fa”. Since a comes before o, all “Fa” words come before Forest. Within the “Fa” words, we compare their letters sequentially until we find differences. That provides a clear internal order, which can then be followed by Forest as the last word.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Separate Forest from the “Fa” words. Fabulous (4), Fascinating (2) and Fantastic (3) begin with “Fa”. Forest (1) begins with “Fo”. Because a comes before o, all “Fa” words must appear before Forest in dictionary order. Step 2: Compare the “Fa” words. Fabulous: f a b u l o u s. Fascinating: f a s c i n a t i n g. Fantastic: f a n t a s t i c. After the shared prefix “Fa”, look at the third letter. Fabulous has “b”. Fascinating has “s”. Fantastic has “n”. Alphabetically, b comes before n, and n comes before s. Therefore, within the “Fa” group, the order is Fabulous (4), Fantastic (3), Fascinating (2). Step 3: Position Forest (1). Forest begins with “Fo”. Since “Fo” comes after “Fa”, Forest must be placed after all three “Fa” words. Step 4: Combine the final order. Complete dictionary order: Fabulous (4), Fantastic (3), Fascinating (2), Forest (1). This corresponds to the sequence 4,3,2,1.

Verification / Alternative check:
List the words in the proposed order: Fabulous, Fantastic, Fascinating, Forest. Check transitions: “Fab” precedes “Fan” because b comes before n, and “Fan” precedes “Fas” because n comes before s. After all “Fa” words, we have “Fo”, so Forest naturally comes last. No other given option implements all these comparisons correctly, confirming that 4,3,2,1 is the true dictionary order.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Any option that does not place Forest last violates the simple rule that “Fo” comes after “Fa”.
Sequences that place Fascinating before Fabulous or Fantastic ignore that s comes after both b and n.
Options that reverse Fabulous and Fantastic overlook that b, the third letter in Fabulous, is earlier than n, the third letter in Fantastic.
Therefore only 4,3,2,1 respects all alphabetical comparisons among the four words.

Common Pitfalls:
Students sometimes rely on how familiar or complex a word feels rather than its strict alphabetical position. For example, Fascinating may subjectively seem like the most prominent word and be placed first by intuition. Others glance only at the first two letters “Fa” and assume the ordering is arbitrary among those words. To avoid such mistakes, always inspect at least the first three or four letters of each word and compare them systematically according to the alphabet.

Final Answer:
The correct dictionary order is Fabulous, Fantastic, Fascinating, Forest, which corresponds to the sequence 4, 3, 2, 1.