Critics dismissed the mayor's proposal as merely , arguing that it addressed only the appearance of corruption while leaving the underlying bureaucratic incentives entirely untouched.
- superficial (correct answer)
- minor
- slight
- cosmetic (correct answer)
- comprehensive
- drastic
Explanation: The clue 'addressed only the appearance... left the underlying... untouched' calls for a word about lack of depth, not lack of size. Cosmetic and superficial both mean affecting only the surface, matching that logic. Minor and slight are same-direction synonyms (also suggest limited impact) but fail on scope: they describe small magnitude rather than shallow substance, a different dimension than what 'appearance versus underlying causes' demands—lesson: distinguish a change that is small from one that is merely surface-level. Drastic and comprehensive are off-topic, meaning the opposite (sweeping, substantive).