The literal definition means to fix something firmly in a surrounding mass. When studying English, the term embedded is used when placing quotes in an essay or a question. This basically means to take a quote and place it in a sentence, but making sure it looks like it is part of the sentence.
Surly seems to be the best option given the question.
The correct answer is D. simile.
Simile is a figure of speech which is used to compare two or more things using words such as <em>like </em>or <em>as. </em>As you can see in this example, <em>life is too much like a pathless wood </em>compares the word <em>life </em>with a <em>pathless wood </em>using the word <em>like, </em>which makes it a simile.