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Difficulty: MediumWords Commonly Confused and Homonyms

Fill in the blanks with the contextually and grammatically correct words to complete the sentence.

Answer:During the cross-examination, the prosecutor attempted to 【elicit】 a confession regarding the defendant's involvement in 【illicit】 financial transactions.

Answer

The correct words are 'elicit' for the first blank and 'illicit' for the second blank.
The verb 'elicit' means to draw out or evoke a response or information, fitting the infinitive position after 'attempted to'. The adjective 'illicit' means illegal or forbidden by law, appropriately describing the nature of the criminal financial transactions.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the syntactic slot and meaning required for the first blank.
The phrase 'attempted to {{blank_1}}' requires an infinitive verb meaning 'to draw out' or 'to evoke' information.
The sentence describes an effort by a prosecutor to obtain a confession from a witness or defendant.
2
Analyze the syntactic slot and meaning required for the second blank.
The phrase '{{blank_2}} financial transactions' requires an adjective meaning 'unlawful' or 'illegal' to modify the noun phrase.
The context concerns a criminal trial involving improper financial dealings.
3
Select the correct homophones based on grammatical category and definitions.
'Elicit' is a verb meaning to draw out or bring forth. 'Illicit' is an adjective meaning forbidden by law, rules, or custom.
Using 'elicit' in the first position and 'illicit' in the second position satisfies both syntactic and semantic requirements.

Key Concept

Distinction between homophones: 'elicit' (verb meaning to draw out or evoke) vs. 'illicit' (adjective meaning illegal or prohibited).
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Topics

Words Commonly Confused and Homonyms

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