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Difficulty: MediumSecondary Meanings and Polysemy

During the preliminary evidentiary hearing, the defense attorney elected to ________ several key affidavits that directly contradicted the prosecution's primary timeline, hoping the judge would admit them into the record. Which of the following words best completes the sentence?

  1. tenderAnswer
  2. B
    soften
  3. C
    withhold
  4. D
    fabricate
  5. E
    publicize

Answer

The word 'tender' best completes the sentence, as its secondary verb definition means to formally offer or submit documents for acceptance.
The correct answer is the verb 'tender'. In legal and formal contexts, to 'tender' means to present, offer, or submit something (such as evidence, payment, or a resignation) for official consideration or acceptance. This precisely matches the defense attorney's action of offering affidavits to be admitted into the court record.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the sentence structure and contextual clues.
The clause 'hoping the judge would admit them into the record' indicates that the attorney is formally submitting or presenting documents to the court.
Understanding the contextual goal determines the required semantic meaning for the blank.
2
Evaluate the vocabulary choices for a secondary definition match.
While 'tender' is commonly recognized as an adjective meaning gentle or delicate, its secondary verb definition specifically means 'to offer or submit formally' (e.g., tendering evidence or tendering a resignation).
GRE Text Completion questions frequently test high-frequency polysemous words in their less familiar secondary senses.
3
Eliminate incorrect distractors.
'Soften' plays into a primary definition trap; 'withhold' opposes the logical intent; 'fabricate' adds an unindicated illegal connotation; and 'publicize' misinterprets courtroom submission as media broadcasting.
Cross-checking options ensures that distractors fail either contextually, logically, or definitionally.

Key Concept

Secondary Meanings of Polysemous Words
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Topics

Secondary Meanings and Polysemy

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