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Difficulty: MediumVocabulary and Word Meaning in Context

Read the following excerpt from an economic report:

"Faced with severe revenue shortfalls and volatile market conditions, the economic planning council advised the administration to husband its existing assets rather than commit capital to unproven commercial ventures."

What is the precise contextual meaning of the word husband as used in the excerpt above?

  1. conserve prudentlyAnswer
  2. B
    cultivate agricultural land
  3. C
    liquidate rapidly
  4. D
    invest aggressively

Answer

The word 'husband' in the passage means to conserve prudently.
In formal English prose, particularly in financial and administrative contexts, the verb 'husband' means to manage, save, or use resources frugally and cautiously. In the excerpt, the economic planning council recommends preserving existing assets rather than spending money on new, risky ventures due to revenue shortfalls.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the grammatical role of the highlighted word in the sentence.
The word 'husband' functions as a verb following the infinitive marker 'to'.
Determining part of speech helps rule out inappropriate noun definitions.
2
Examine surrounding context clues.
The phrase mentions 'revenue shortfalls' and contrasts 'husbanding assets' with 'committing capital to unproven commercial ventures'.
The surrounding text indicates caution, preservation, and avoiding risky expenditure.
3
Select the option that best substitutes for the target word while retaining context.
Replacing 'husband' with 'conserve prudently' maintains complete semantic and syntactic harmony.
To 'husband' resources as a verb means to manage or preserve them with care and frugality.

Key Concept

Contextual Word Meaning of Homographs / Secondary Verbal Meanings
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Topics

Vocabulary and Word Meaning in Context

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