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Difficulty: MediumSentence Equivalence: Contextual Synonym Pair Selection

Although the nineteenth-century archivist claimed to have preserved the manuscript collection in its entirety, recent inventory audits revealed that several crucial ledgers were deliberately __________ during the library's mid-century reorganization, rendering the historical record incomplete. Which two of the following answer choices, when inserted into the sentence, produce completed sentences that are most similar in meaning?

  1. expungedAnswer
  2. excisedAnswer
  3. C
    sequestered
  4. D
    cloistered
  5. E
    mislaid
  6. F
    distorted

Answer

The two words that complete the sentence with equivalent meaning are 'expunged' and 'excised'. Both convey that key historical ledgers were intentionally removed or deleted from the collection, contradicting the archivist's claim of complete preservation.
The sentence relies on the contrast signal 'Although' to set up an opposition between the claim of complete preservation and the reality of an incomplete record. The options meaning erased or cut out ('expunged' and 'excised') both complete the sentence to mean the ledgers were intentionally eliminated, producing two sentences with identical meaning.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze structural pivot words and sentence tone
The sentence begins with the concessionary pivot 'Although', signaling a contrast between the archivist's claim ('preserved... in its entirety') and the actual audit finding ('rendering the historical record incomplete').
Identifying contrast clues determines the required semantic direction of the blank.
2
Determine the required meaning for the blank
The blank must describe what was deliberately done to the ledgers that caused them to be missing or removed, directly creating an incomplete record.
Establishing the contextual definition prevents selecting words that are topically related but semantically inappropriate.
3
Evaluate option pairs for synonymy and contextual fit
'expunged' (erased/removed) and 'excised' (cut out/deleted) are clear contextual synonyms that both produce coherent, equivalent sentences. 'sequestered' and 'cloistered' form a synonym pair meaning isolated, but do not fit the concept of removing material from a collection. 'mislaid' contradicts 'deliberately' and lacks a partner, while 'distorted' lacks a partner.
GRE Sentence Equivalence requires both mutual synonymy between the two selected words and alignment with the contextual clues of the stem.

Key Concept

Sentence Equivalence Contextual Synonym Pair Selection
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Topics

Sentence Equivalence: Contextual Synonym Pair Selection

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