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Difficulty: MediumVocabulary and Word Meaning in Context

Read the passage excerpt below:

"In the face of severe fiscal austerity, the newly appointed minister urged local agricultural cooperatives to husband their remaining reserves rather than embark on ambitious expansion projects."

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

  1. A
    marry legally
  2. B
    cultivate agriculturally
  3. carefully manageAnswer
  4. D
    distribute widely

Answer

The contextual meaning of 'husband' in the excerpt is 'carefully manage'.
The word 'husband' functions as a transitive verb meaning to use resources sparingly and economically. In the context of 'severe fiscal austerity' and preserving 'remaining reserves', the passage demands that the cooperatives carefully manage and conserve what they have.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the syntactic role of the target word in the sentence.
The word 'husband' follows the infinitive marker 'to' ('to husband their remaining reserves'), indicating it is used as a verb rather than a noun.
Determining the grammatical category prevents confusing the verb with the more common noun form.
2
Examine the contextual clues in the surrounding sentence.
The clause mentions 'severe fiscal austerity' and contrasts 'husbanding reserves' with 'ambitious expansion projects'.
Contextual clues indicate a need for prudence, thrift, and preservation of financial resources.
3
Substitute the options into the sentence to test semantic fit.
'Carefully manage their remaining reserves' maintains the logical coherence of preserving funds during hard economic times.
Semantic substitution confirms that 'carefully manage' accurately captures the intended meaning of conserving resources.

Key Concept

Vocabulary and Word Meaning in Context
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Topics

Vocabulary and Word Meaning in Context

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