Vocabulary and Word Meaning in Context
Word meaning in context
Context vocabulary questions ask for the meaning a word carries in that sentence, not its most familiar dictionary sense. Many test words are ordinary words used in a less common sense - sound (valid), table (postpone), reserve (restraint), economy (saving), charged (intense). Others are academic words whose near-synonyms differ in strength or tone: mitigate, alleviate, temper, allay all mean reduce, but not identically.
Use the sentence's logic. Look for signal words around the target. Contrast markers (but, although, whereas, despite) tell you the meaning runs opposite to something nearby; restatement markers (that is, in other words) signal that a paraphrase is supplied; cause-and-effect markers narrow the sense. Check the word's grammatical role too - a noun used as a modifier, or an adjective in the predicate, may shift meaning.
Connotation: decide whether the word is neutral, approving or critical. An option with the right meaning but the wrong charge is wrong. Beware false friends: options that resemble the target word but mean something unrelated.
Traps: choosing the commonest meaning regardless of context; choosing an option that is true of the sentence but is not a synonym of the word; being drawn to long, formal options.
Rule of thumb - the substitution test. Insert your chosen option into the original sentence and re-read. If the meaning and tone survive unchanged, the option fits; if the sentence becomes odd, overstated or merely possible, reject it. Always test all options, because the second-best synonym often looks attractive until inserted.