Vocabulary – Choose the option that BEST expresses the meaning of the highlighted word in context. Sentence: The invasion force had no artillery and was completely annihilated.

Introduction / Context:
In military and historical writing, “annihilated” denotes total destruction or wiping out of a force. The sentence emphasizes that the lack of artillery led to a devastating outcome, so the closest general-English paraphrase should convey complete destruction.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Target word: annihilated.
• Context: outcome for an invasion force without artillery.
• We need the closest paraphrase.

Concept / Approach:
“Destroyed” most directly captures the sense of total defeat/eradication. Other choices either add incorrect physical nuance (“dismembered”), understate the magnitude (“reduced”), or mischaracterize the result as mere separation (“split”).

Step-by-Step Solution:
1) Define annihilate: to destroy completely.2) Compare options for completeness of loss.3) Select “destroyed” as the faithful synonym.4) Validate with the causal clause about lacking artillery.

Verification / Alternative check:
Replace: “was completely destroyed” reads naturally and is widely used in battle reports and narratives.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• dismembered: literal tearing apart; not the intended broad outcome.
• reduced: suggests shrinkage, not obliteration.
• split: implies division, not destruction.

Common Pitfalls:
Underestimating the intensifier “completely”; annihilation is categorical, not partial.

Final Answer:
destroyed