Difficulty: Easy
Correct Answer: Reprieve
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
This vocabulary question asks you to match a short description with a precise English term. The phrase providing relief is often used in contexts involving punishment, suffering, or intense pressure. Recognising which word closely expresses the idea of relief, often temporary, is the key to choosing the correct answer.
Given Data / Assumptions:
- Description: Providing relief.
- Options: Reissue, Reprieve, Rejoinder, Refuge.
- The term is likely to be used in legal or hardship contexts.
Concept / Approach:
A reprieve is a postponement or temporary cancellation of a punishment, especially a death sentence, and by extension any temporary relief from pain, trouble, or difficulty. While refuge and reprieve are both connected with relief or safety, reprieve directly captures the idea of providing relief in the sense of granting a break or delay. The other options relate to reprinting, replying, or a place of safety rather than the act of providing relief.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify that providing relief suggests an action that eases suffering or postpones difficulty.
Step 2: Examine reprieve: it is used for postponing a sentence or giving someone temporary relief from something unpleasant.
Step 3: Check reissue, which means issuing again, usually for documents or publications.
Step 4: Check rejoinder, which refers to a reply or response, often sharp or witty.
Step 5: Check refuge, which means a place of safety or shelter, rather than the act of granting relief.
Step 6: Among these, reprieve most closely matches the idea of providing relief.
Verification / Alternative check:
Consider sentences such as The court granted a reprieve, giving the prisoner temporary relief from execution or The holiday was a welcome reprieve from months of hard work. In both examples, reprieve clearly means something that provides relief from stress or danger. Reissue and rejoinder cannot be substituted in these sentences, and refuge would change the meaning, since it refers more to a place than to the act.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Reissue refers to issuing something again, like a book or a policy, and has nothing to do with relief from suffering.
Rejoinder is a reply, especially a sharp or witty one, and does not involve easing pain or postponing punishment.
Refuge is a place of safety or shelter, not the specific act or decision that provides relief in the way a reprieve does.
Common Pitfalls:
Students may be tempted by refuge because it is connected to safety and protection. However, the question asks for providing relief, which points to an action rather than a location. Remember that a reprieve is often granted, providing relief, whereas a refuge is a physical or figurative place where one may go for safety.
Final Answer:
The correct one word substitution is Reprieve.
Discussion & Comments