Help with test

[tylerhillwa]

I'm studying for GRE test and I am looking for help about some practice questions on http://www.mygretutor.com. The sentence completion question is 

 

The perpetrator, when asked in court why he had ___ the food, indicated that his children had been hungry, and that he had to do it for their sake

 

and the choices are  

 

a. prevaricated

b. purloined

c. excoriated

d. winnowed

e. defalcated

 

the answer is b, but I think e, defalcate, is a better. Can someone please explain me why choice b is better than choice e. Or is there better board on here for discussions about gre practice questions.

[Zoethor2]

TBH I hadn't heard the word "defalcated" before, but having looked it up, it seems it is a synonym for embezzle and thus only applies to financial theft.  Whereas purloin is a synonym for steal or thieve, which can apply to any object.