Question

Difficulty: Very hardSynonyms and Words Nearest in Meaning

Complete the sentence below by supplying the word nearest in meaning to the described context.

Answer:The scholar's 【abstruse】 prose made the historical treatise so obscure and dense that only specialized researchers could comprehend its arguments.

Answer

abstruse (or recondite / arcane / esoteric)
The sentence describes prose that is obscure, dense, and incomprehensible to general readers. The word 'abstruse' (along with synonyms such as 'recondite' or 'arcane') specifically describes academic or literary writing that is difficult to understand due to its complexity and obscurity.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the contextual clues in the sentence stem.
The clues 'obscure', 'dense', and 'only specialized researchers could comprehend' indicate a word that means difficult to understand or esoteric.
Contextual vocabulary selection requires identifying tone and explicit descriptive clues surrounding the blank slot.
2
Evaluate target academic vocabulary that means hard to understand due to complexity or obscurity.
The word 'abstruse' (or its close synonyms 'recondite', 'arcane', 'esoteric') precisely denotes content that is deep, obscure, and difficult to comprehend.
Selecting the most contextually appropriate synonym ensures precision in formal register usage.

Key Concept

Contextual Synonyms and High-Level Lexis
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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