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Question

Difficulty: EasyVerb and Adverb Suffixes

The laboratory assistant added a chemical agent to solidify the liquid mixture. In this sentence, the word solidify most nearly means which of the following?

  1. A
    make thin or fluid
  2. make firm or hardAnswer
  3. C
    the condition of being solid
  4. D
    dissolve completely into liquid

Answer

make firm or hard
The word 'solidify' is formed from the base word 'solid' and the productive verb suffix '-ify', which denotes causing something to become a certain state. Therefore, in the context of treating a liquid mixture, 'solidify' means to make it firm or hard.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Break down the target word into its base root and suffix.
The word 'solidify' combines the root 'solid' (meaning firm, compact, or hard) with the verb suffix '-ify'.
Identifying word structure components reveals the core meaning and grammatical function.
2
Determine the function of the suffix and synthesize the complete definition.
The suffix '-ify' means 'to make or cause to become', yielding the meaning 'to make solid, firm, or hard'.
Applying the morphological rule directly yields the correct contextual definition.

Key Concept

The verb suffix '-ify' attaches to base words to form verbs meaning 'to make, form into, or cause to become.'
Estimated Time:45s
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Topics

Verb and Adverb Suffixes

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