Select the most more appropriate option to fill in the blank.

All the Board members were present with the _____ of the secretary.

exception

The most appropriate option to fill in the blank is exception.

The sentence "All the Board members were present with the exception of the secretary" means that all the Board members were present, with the one exception of the secretary. The word "exception" is the most appropriate word to use in the blank because it accurately reflects the fact that the secretary was the only one who was not present.

The other options are not as appropriate.

• The word "failure" is used to talk about the lack of success. This does not make sense in the context of the sentence, as the speaker is not talking about the lack of success of the Board members, but about the fact that one of them was not present.
• The word "absence" is also used to talk about the fact that someone is not present. However, it is more commonly used when the absence is unexpected or unexplained. In this case, the absence of the secretary is not unexpected or unexplained, so "absence" is not the best choice.
• The word "omission" is used to talk about the act of leaving something out. This does not make sense in the context of the sentence, as the speaker is not talking about the act of leaving the secretary out, but about the fact that the secretary was not present.