Select the most appropriate word to fill in the blank.
The State Government argued that it could not ______ the increase in the teachers' salaries as awarded by the court.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
The correct answer is option 1 i.e. afford.
The sentence implies that the State Government could not bear the increase in the teachers’ salaries as awarded by the court.
‘Afford’ means to ‘have enough money to pay for, have (a resource such as money or time) available or to spare perfectly fits in the blank.
The State Government argued that it could not afford the increase in the teachers' salaries as awarded by the court.
'Afford' is the correct word as the sentence states that the government did not have enough resources to spare so as to increase the teachers' salaries.
Hence, option 1 is correct.