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Difficulty: MediumVocabulary and Word Meaning in Context

Following months of extensive field investigation into urban flood management, the technical advisory board was dissolved after having satisfactorily discharged its assigned responsibilities.

In the sentence above, which of the following best captures the contextual meaning of the bolded word discharged?

  1. fulfilledAnswer
  2. B
    released
  3. C
    terminated
  4. D
    emitted

Answer

In the context of the sentence, the word 'discharged' means fulfilled, as it describes the successful execution and completion of assigned official duties.
The term 'discharged' in an administrative or professional context means to execute or fulfill a legal or formal obligation. Since the board completed its assigned responsibilities satisfactorily, 'fulfilled' is the accurate contextual interpretation.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the syntactic role and immediate context of the target word.
The word 'discharged' acts as a transitive verb taking 'its assigned responsibilities' as its direct object.
Understanding the object of the verb clarifies what action is being performed on the responsibilities.
2
Evaluate the broader sentence context to infer the semantic intention.
The clause states that the advisory board worked satisfactorily before being dissolved, indicating their tasks were completed successfully.
An advisory board is typically dissolved after its mission or work has been fully accomplished.
3
Substitute candidate words into the original sentence to test semantic and grammatical fit.
Substituting 'fulfilled' yields: '...after having satisfactorily fulfilled its assigned responsibilities', which preserves the exact intended meaning.
Correct substitution confirms that 'fulfilled' is the precise contextual synonym.

Key Concept

Contextual Word Meaning (Polysemy)
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Topics

Vocabulary and Word Meaning in Context

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