Secondary Meanings and Polysemy

Far from presenting a unified front during the negotiations, the diplomatic delegation was destabilized by an unexpected ________ among its senior negotiators, whose divergent priorities regarding territorial concessions produced an irreconcilable divide.

Which of the following options, if substituted into the blank, would complete the sentence in a logically coherent manner? Select all that apply.

Although literary scholars long contended that the author’s late novels were marked by a decline in thematic ambition, recent archival discoveries reveal that she continued to ________ contentious social debates, deliberately embedding subversive commentaries within seemingly conventional narratives. Which of the following words, if inserted into the blank, would accurately complete the sentence by indicating that the author held or maintained these debates? Select all that apply.

While the early stages of the archaeological excavation yielded groundbreaking discoveries at a rapid pace, the team's momentum began to ________ when they encountered unexpectedly dense bedrock and severe weather. Which of the following words best completes the sentence?

Although the revisionist economist initially intended to present an unassailable critique of early industrial monetary policy, her final monograph served to ________ her original thesis, introducing nuanced caveats that softened her once-uncompromising stance.

Which of the following words, if inserted into the blank, would appropriately complete the sentence based on their secondary or specialized meanings? Select all that apply.

While modern computational techniques have revolutionized observational astronomy, traditional methods of manual spectroscopic analysis still ________ in several specialized subfields, where long-standing observational protocols continue to be strictly observed.

Which of the following words, if inserted into the blank, best completes the sentence?