Sentence:  Sprinkel told conferees that the recent improvement in economic activity <WSD>was</WSD> not a `` temporary flash in the pan '' but the beginning of a substantial cyclical expansion that will carry the economy back to full employment levels and witness a renewal of our traditional growth pattern . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun)