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Question

Difficulty: EasyVerb and Adverb Suffixes

The crew needed to intensify their search efforts as the storm approached. In this sentence, the word intensify most nearly means which of the following?

  1. A
    decrease the level of effort
  2. make stronger or more activeAnswer
  3. C
    the quality of being extreme
  4. D
    declare an intention to act

Answer

make stronger or more active
The word 'intensify' is formed from the base 'intense' and the verb suffix '-ify', which signifies 'to make or become'. Therefore, to intensify search efforts means to make them stronger, more rigorous, or more active.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the target word 'intensify' into its base word and suffix.
The word consists of the base adjective 'intense' (meaning strong or extreme) and the verb suffix '-ify' (meaning to make or cause to become).
Identifying morpheme boundaries clarifies both the grammatical category and the core meaning.
2
Combine the morphological meaning with the sentence context to determine the exact definition.
'Intensify' means to make more intense, active, or strong, matching the crew's need to increase their search efforts.
The context of an approaching storm reinforces the need to increase rather than reduce or merely describe effort.

Key Concept

Verb suffixes such as -ify attach to adjectives or nouns to form action verbs meaning 'to make or cause to become'.
Estimated Time:45s
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Topics

Verb and Adverb Suffixes

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