Question

Lady Bracknell. Pray allow me to detain you for a moment. This matter may prove to be one of vital importance to Lord Bracknell and myself. Is this Miss Prism a female of repellent aspect, remotel connected with
education?
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What is the meaning of the word detain as it is used in the underlined portion?
to delay someone for a short period of time
to force someone officially to stay in place
to restrain especially from proceeding

Answer 1

In this excerpt. the word "detain" refers to the action of delaying or stopping someone for a short time.

In texts, the meaning of words can be determined based on context clues. This implies:

• Analyzing the words near to the unknown word.
• Understanding the general situation described.

In the excerpt presented, there is a conversation between two characters, as part of this conversation one character mentions the word "detain". This word is related to the following ideas:

• "for a moment" which shows the action is just for a short period of time.
• "matter...vital importance" which shows the character wants to discuss an important matter.

Based on this, the word "detain" most likely refers to the action of delaying someone for a short time.

Learn more in: brainly.com/question/13119154