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Difficulty: HardAntonym Distractor Elimination

The logistics officer noted that the unit's prodigal consumption of emergency supplies during the field exercise had severely depleted their reserves. In this context, the word prodigal most nearly means which of the following?

  1. A
    Thrifty
  2. B
    Enormous
  3. WastefulAnswer
  4. D
    Productive

Answer

Wasteful
The word 'prodigal' denotes characterized by profuse, reckless, or wasteful expenditure. In the sentence, the phrase describing supplies that were 'severely depleted' confirms that the consumption was reckless and excessive, making 'Wasteful' the exact synonym.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the sentence context and tone clues
The phrase 'severely depleted their reserves' indicates reckless and excessive expenditure of limited resources.
Contextual analysis establishes the negative semantic orientation required of the target word.
2
Identify the primary definition of the target word 'prodigal'
'Prodigal' means spending money or resources freely, recklessly, or wastefully.
Direct vocabulary retrieval defines the core meaning.
3
Eliminate the antonym trap and lookalike distractors
'Thrifty' is eliminated as a direct antonym, 'Enormous' is eliminated as a confusion with 'prodigious', and 'Productive' is eliminated due to prefix misapplication.
Eliminating polar opposites and false lookalikes guarantees precision under standardized test conditions.
4
Match the target word with the unambiguous synonym
'Wasteful' is the direct and accurate synonym.
Confirms the final selection matches both definition and context.

Key Concept

Antonym Distractor Elimination
Estimated Time:45s
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Topics

Antonym Distractor Elimination

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