Sentence:  She was proceeding in this manner when the surgeon entered the room. The lieutenant immediately asked how his patient did. But he <WSD>resolved</WSD> him only by saying, "Better, I believe, than he would have been by this time, if I had not been called; and even as it is, perhaps it would have been lucky if I could have been called sooner." 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  To cause to perceive or understand; to acquaint; to inform; to convince; to assure; to make certain.