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Difficulty: MediumVocabulary and Word Meaning in Context

Read the passage excerpt below.

"During the election tribunal proceedings, the presiding judge declared that the panel could not entertain the preliminary petition filed by the petitioner after the statutory submission deadline had elapsed."

Which of the following options best captures the contextual meaning of the word entertain as used in the excerpt above?

  1. admit for official considerationAnswer
  2. B
    provide amusement or hospitality to
  3. C
    summarily penalize and strike out
  4. D
    host an informal discussion regarding

Answer

admit for official consideration
In legal and administrative registers, to 'entertain' an argument, application, or petition means to give it official consideration or legal hearing. Because the deadline had passed, the panel was procedurally barred from receiving and hearing the petition.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the surrounding domain context of the passage excerpt.
The setting is a legal proceeding ('election tribunal', 'presiding judge', 'statutory submission deadline').
Word meanings in comprehension passages are dictated by their specific domain or register.
2
Determine the functional meaning of 'entertain' when applied to a legal document or petition.
In legal procedure, a court or tribunal 'entertains' a plea or motion when it formally accepts it for hearing and consideration.
The sentence explains that the deadline elapsed, preventing the panel from taking up the petition for formal hearing.
3
Substitute the selected meaning back into the excerpt to test fit.
"...the panel could not admit for official consideration the preliminary petition..." makes complete grammatical and semantic sense.
Validating context substitution confirms precision.

Key Concept

Contextual Word Meaning in Lexis and Comprehension
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Vocabulary and Word Meaning in Context

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