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Difficulty: Very hardSecondary Meanings and Polysemy

Far from presenting a unified front during the negotiations, the diplomatic delegation was destabilized by an unexpected ________ among its senior negotiators, whose divergent priorities regarding territorial concessions produced an irreconcilable divide.

Which of the following options, if substituted into the blank, would complete the sentence in a logically coherent manner? Select all that apply.

  1. rentAnswer
  2. schismAnswer
  3. C
    tenancy
  4. D
    concession
  5. E
    restitution

Answer

The correct options are 'rent' and 'schism'. Both words denote a split, division, or rift, perfectly matching the context of an irreconcilable divide among negotiators.
The sentence describes a delegation that failed to remain unified, resulting in an irreconcilable divide. The noun 'rent' carries a secondary meaning of a split, tear, or breach in relations, making it semantically equivalent to 'schism', which means a division or split between opposing groups.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze sentence context and structural clues.
The opening contrast phrase 'Far from presenting a unified front' and the closing elaboration 'produced an irreconcilable divide' signal that the blank requires a word meaning split, division, or breach.
Identifying context signals determines the exact semantic definition needed for the blank.
2
Evaluate vocabulary choices for primary and secondary meanings.
The word 'rent' (secondary noun definition: split or tear) and 'schism' (division or split) both directly satisfy the context requirement.
GRE Text Completion questions frequently test secondary definitions of common polysemous words such as 'rent'.
3
Eliminate distractors based on misconception traps.
Options like 'tenancy' and 'restitution' target financial/property definitions commonly associated with renting, while 'concession' repeats a topical word from the passage in an illogical manner.
Distractors exploit high-frequency dictionary meanings and surface-level topical association.

Key Concept

Secondary Meanings and Polysemy
Estimated Time:2m 0s
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Topics

Secondary Meanings and Polysemy

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