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Question

Difficulty: HardSecondary and High-Frequency Alternative Meanings

Complete the sentence below by identifying the word that best fits the blank based on its secondary meaning.

Answer:Faced with an increasingly severe deficit and dwindling reserves, the municipal council was forced to 【husband】 its remaining resources, strictly rationing expenditures rather than funding new speculative infrastructure projects.

Answer

The word that correctly completes the sentence is 'husband'.
The correct word is 'husband'. In academic and formal prose, 'husband' frequently appears as a verb meaning to manage or use resources sparingly and economically. Contextual signals such as 'severe deficit', 'dwindling reserves', and 'rationing expenditures' demand a verb centered on preservation and conservation.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the context clues within the sentence.
Identified keywords such as 'dwindling reserves' and 'strictly rationing expenditures' that indicate a need to carefully preserve and economize limited funds.
The blank requires a verb that denotes frugal stewardship and careful management of remaining capital.
2
Evaluate the secondary verb meaning of 'husband'.
Determined that beyond its primary noun definition (a married man), 'husband' functions as a transitive verb meaning to manage, conserve, or use resources prudently.
GRE Verbal questions routinely test high-frequency alternative definitions of standard vocabulary in academic contexts.
3
Verify contextual and grammatical fit.
Substituting 'husband' into the blank produces 'was forced to husband its remaining resources', which perfectly completes the sentence.
The secondary verb usage of 'husband' matches both the syntactic requirement (infinitive verb following 'to') and the semantic emphasis on resource conservation.

Key Concept

Secondary Meanings of Common Words
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Topics

Secondary and High-Frequency Alternative Meanings

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