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Difficulty: MediumCommon Prefixes

The supervisor was careful during the briefing so that no technician would misconstrue the instructions. What does the word misconstrue most nearly mean?

  1. A
    Assemble physically
  2. Interpret incorrectlyAnswer
  3. C
    Understand accurately
  4. D
    Overlook accidentally

Answer

Interpret incorrectly
The word 'misconstrue' is formed by attaching the prefix 'mis-' (meaning 'badly', 'wrongly', or 'erroneously') to the root 'construe' (meaning 'to interpret or explain the sense of'). Combining these elements yields the meaning 'to interpret incorrectly'.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Break down the target word into its constituent morphological elements
The word 'misconstrue' separates into the prefix 'mis-' and the base root 'construe'.
Morphological breakdown isolates the prefix to determine how it modifies the root word.
2
Determine the specific meaning of each component
The prefix 'mis-' means 'badly', 'wrongly', or 'erroneously', while 'construe' means 'to analyze or interpret the meaning of'.
Synthesizing the prefix and root definitions reveals the overall word meaning.
3
Select the option that matches the combined meaning within the context of the sentence
'Interpret incorrectly' aligns directly with 'mis-' (wrongly) + 'construe' (interpret).
The sentence focuses on preventing errors in understanding instructional details during a briefing.

Key Concept

Morphological analysis of the common negative/pejorative prefix 'mis-' (meaning 'wrongly' or 'badly') combined with a root verb.
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Common Prefixes

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