The rapper's popularity is beginning to wane

Analyze the question: The sentence is "The rapper's popularity is beginning to wane." This is really a vocabulary question: which option is closest in meaning to the word wane?

Explain the concept: To wane means to become gradually smaller, weaker, or less. It is often used for the moon (which "wanes" after the full moon), for strength, influence, or popularity. The opposite of wane is wax (to grow bigger or stronger).

Check each option:

• A. disappear: This means to vanish completely. Wane describes a gradual reduction, not total disappearance. The sentence says popularity is only "beginning" to wane, so it hasn't vanished.
• B. change: This is too general. Popularity could change by rising or falling, but wane only means falling.
• C. disperse: This means to scatter, as in a crowd dispersing. It doesn't suit the idea of popularity.
• D. decline: This means to decrease or grow weaker gradually. It matches wane in both meaning and sense.

Answer: The sentence becomes "The rapper's popularity is beginning to decline.

Tip: Remember the moon: it waxes (grows) and wanes (shrinks). Whenever you see wane, think "decrease gradually." Be careful with options like "disappear", which are too extreme. In WASSCE lexis questions, the best answer matches both the meaning and the degree of the word.