ASVAB · Context Clues

In the sentence, 'The new evidence served to CORROBORATE the witness's account,' CORROBORATE most nearly means:

Correct answer

To confirm or support

  1. A To contradict
  2. B To question
  3. C To confirm or support
  4. D To ignore

Why this is the answer

The context — evidence acting on a witness's account — combined with the word's use suggests CORROBORATE means to confirm or support with additional evidence. If new evidence 'serves to corroborate' an account, it backs it up and makes it more credible. The distractor 'contradict' is the opposite. CORROBORATE is common in legal and investigative contexts, where one piece of evidence strengthens another. Using the sentence's logic — evidence that supports a statement — leads you to the correct synonym 'confirm/support.'
Source: ASVAB Word Knowledge — Context Clues

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About this topic: Context Clues

Context-clue questions give the word inside a sentence; the surrounding words tell you whether it is positive or negative, large or small, action or state. Use that before reaching for a definition. This is one of 10 Word Knowledge questions on context clues, each with a full explanation on a single study page.

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