following sentences, choose the word or group of words that is nearest in meaning to the underlined word as it…

Analyze the question: You are asked for the word closest in meaning to prudence as used in "financial prudence."

Explain the concept: Prudence means care and good judgment, especially in handling money or avoiding risk. It describes someone who thinks ahead, avoids waste, and acts wisely. Words close to it are caution, carefulness, discretion, and wisdom.

Solution, option by option:

• A. precision means exactness or accuracy. It is about detail, not careful judgment, so it does not fit.
• B. caution means care taken to avoid danger or mistakes. "Financial caution" means being careful with money, which is exactly what parents want to teach. This fits.
• C. credence means belief or trust, as in "give credence to a rumour." It is unrelated to prudence.
• D. sincerity means honesty of feeling. It has nothing to do with handling money wisely.

Answer: The sentence becomes "Parents encourage their children to exercise financial caution," which keeps the meaning. The correct option is B.

Tip: Link the words prudent and prudence to "careful and wise." In WASSCE lexis questions, test each option by replacing the underlined word in the sentence and checking that the meaning stays the same. Also watch for look-alike words such as precision and credence, which are put there as distractors.