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Difficulty: Very hardSecondary and High-Frequency Alternative Meanings

Read the sentence below and fill in the blank with the single word that best completes the context based on its secondary meaning.

Answer:Although the envoy maintained an outwardly conciliatory posture throughout the peace summit, in private negotiations he moved to 【exact】 sweeping economic concessions from the besieged nation, leveraging its severe financial distress to compel total submission.

Answer

The blank must be filled with 'exact'.
In this passage, 'exact' is used in its secondary sense as a verb meaning to demand, require, or extort forcibly from someone. The context describes an envoy who leverages another nation's vulnerability to compel concessions, perfectly aligning with this secondary definition.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the structural clues and tone of the passage.
The contrast transition 'Although' sets up a opposition between the envoy's 'outwardly conciliatory posture' and his aggressive private actions described as 'leveraging... financial distress to compel total submission.'
Understanding context clues determines the necessary meaning of the target word.
2
Identify the required definition of the verb in context.
The context requires a transitive verb meaning to demand, require, or forcibly bring about (concessions).
The blank precedes 'sweeping economic concessions' and acts as the verb performed by the envoy.
3
Apply secondary meaning knowledge for common vocabulary.
While 'exact' primarily functions as an adjective meaning accurate or precise, its secondary high-frequency GRE verb definition means to demand, extort, or call for as necessary.
The secondary verb definition of 'exact' fits the precise syntactic and contextual requirements of the passage.

Key Concept

Secondary and High-Frequency Alternative Meanings
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Topics

Secondary and High-Frequency Alternative Meanings

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