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Question

Difficulty: Very hardAntonyms and Words Opposite in Meaning

Complete the sentence below by supplying the word that is MOST NEARLY OPPOSITE IN MEANING to the capitalized target word.

Answer:Far from AMELIORATING the severe economic hardship faced by low-income families, the recently introduced tariff adjustments served only to 【exacerbate】 their distress.

Answer

exacerbate (or worsen / aggravate / compound / intensify)
The capitalized word 'AMELIORATING' means improving, mitigating, or making a bad situation better. The sentence structure begins with the contrastive marker 'Far from...', which requires an action opposite to improving. Therefore, the blank must be filled with a word meaning to make worse or intensify distress, such as 'exacerbate', 'worsen', or 'aggravate'.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the meaning of the capitalized target word in context.
The word 'AMELIORATING' means making something bad or unsatisfactory better, improving, or mitigating.
Accurately identifying the contextual definition of the emphasized word is necessary before selecting its antonym.
2
Examine the sentence structure for contextual indicators.
The opening prepositional phrase 'Far from [action X]... served only to [blank]' sets up an explicit contrast between the intended positive effect (ameliorating) and the actual negative outcome.
The syntactic construction 'Far from...' signals that the blank must contain a word opposite in meaning to the target word.
3
Determine the appropriate contextual antonym.
The precise antonym of 'ameliorate' in the context of hardship or distress is to 'exacerbate' (or worsen/aggravate).
Inserting 'exacerbate' logically completes the contrast and maintains syntactic and semantic coherence.

Key Concept

Contextual Antonyms
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Antonyms and Words Opposite in Meaning

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