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Question

Difficulty: MediumMultiple-Meaning Words

The safety inspector was careful to qualify his initial approval of the facility by noting several electrical hazards that still required repair. What is the meaning of the underlined word as it is used in the sentence?

  1. A
    meet the required standards
  2. limit or modify with conditionsAnswer
  3. C
    grant official certification
  4. D
    reject or declare unfit

Answer

The meaning of the underlined word is 'limit or modify with conditions'.
In this sentence, the verb 'qualify' means to make a statement or endorsement less absolute by attaching conditions or limitations. The inspector granted approval, but moderated it by citing specific electrical hazards that needed repair.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Examine the sentence context surrounding the underlined word.
The inspector provided an approval, but accompanied it with notes about hazards that needed fixing.
Contextual clues clarify which definition of a polysemous word applies in the given scenario.
2
Analyze the modifying phrase 'by noting several electrical hazards'.
The cited hazards show that the approval was not total or unrestricted, but held specific caveats.
Prepositional modifying clauses often signal conditions or limits placed on an action.
3
Select the definition that matches restricting or moderating an endorsement.
'Limit or modify with conditions' accurately conveys this secondary sense of 'qualify'.
This precisely captures the meaning of adding reservations to a statement rather than meeting standard requirements.

Key Concept

Multiple-Meaning Words in Context
Estimated Time:45s
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Topics

Multiple-Meaning Words

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