The word 施展 is a compound verb formed through the common Chinese morphological process of synonym compounding, where two semantically similar characters combine to create a nuanced, unified meaning. The first character, 施 (shī), carries the core meaning of "to execute", "to apply", or "to exert", while the second, 展 (zhǎn), means "to unfold", "to display", or "to put to use". When paired, they reinforce and extend each other's sense, resulting in the comprehensive meaning of "to give full play to", "to bring into play", or "to deploy" one's abilities, talents, or skills, effectively conveying the action of unfolding and applying one's capabilities in practice.