Please help will mark brainliest

Based on the context of each quote from incidents in the life of a slave girl by harriet ann jacobs, find the word that most closely matches thedenotation of the bolded word

Mr. underwood's editorial defending tom robinson is surprising because he's described as not wanting to be near negroes it's a dangerous stance to take at that time he had been neutral during the trial he wasn't in the courtroom

May someone me with these questions