Which word best fits? "The findings ______ earlier assumptions about the species' diet."
Contradict takes a direct object and means to go against. Comply needs "with", and consist needs "of" — the grammar rules them out before the meaning does.
Q8Reading
Fill in the blank: "______ the delay, the project was delivered within budget."
Despite is followed by a noun ("the delay"). Although would need a full clause after it. Watch what follows the blank, not just the meaning.