Question

Difficulty: MediumBase Word Identification

The factory supervisor addressed the staff to resolve the growing discontentment among the assembly crew. What is the base word of discontentment?

  1. A
    discontent
  2. contentAnswer
  3. C
    tent
  4. D
    continent

Answer

content
The word 'discontentment' is formed by attaching the negative prefix 'dis-' and the noun-forming suffix '-ment' to the root word 'content'. Stripping away both affixes isolates the true base word 'content'.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the morphological structure of the target word 'discontentment'.
The word consists of the prefix 'dis-', the root 'content', and the suffix '-ment'.
Identifying all attached affixes is necessary to separate them from the root.
2
Remove the prefix 'dis-' and the suffix '-ment'.
The core word remaining is 'content'.
A base word is the foundational form that remains after all affixes are stripped away.
3
Verify that the remaining word is a valid free base.
'Content' is a complete, meaningful standalone word meaning satisfied or pleased.
Confirms that the segment is a legitimate base word and not an over-truncated fragment.

Key Concept

Base Word Identification through Affix Removal
Estimated Time:45s
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