GRE Verbal : Adjectives and Adverbs in One-Blank Texts
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for GRE Verbal
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Example Questions
Example Question #471 : Adjectives And Adverbs In One Blank Texts
Fill in the blanks with the best answer.
The politician continued to be _________ during the court hearings; the judge was unable to extract a clear answer from him.
despondent
evasive
cursory
austere
unequivocal
evasive
"Evasive" is the state of evading, to escape, or, in this context, to avoid questioning. The second part of the sentence gives a clear hint that the politician refraining from giving clear and candid answers to the judge's questions. As "equivocal" is a synonym of "evasive," "unequivocal" is the opposite of the correct word.
Example Question #472 : Adjectives And Adverbs In One Blank Texts
Fill in the blank with the best answer.
The cellist delivered a(n) _________ performance which demonstrated none of the passion and improvisation she was once known for.
ephemeral
exhaustive
meticulous
perfunctory
vogue
perfunctory
"Perfunctory" describes something superficially or hastily performed. In this context, the cellist, normally a passionate and improvising player, has a performance which is the opposite—either it's bad, boring, or rushed. No words adequately match with bad or boring, so rushed works.
Example Question #473 : Adjectives And Adverbs In One Blank Texts
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
George’s __________ nature became obvious when Martha’s small flub made him fly off the handle.
quiescent
equivocal
bucolic
saturnine
irascible
irascible
“Irascible” means quick to anger. This is the only choice that describes a person who reacts violently to a small “flub” or mistake.
Example Question #474 : Adjectives And Adverbs In One Blank Texts
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
Harris’s friends were worried by the ___________ poems he often wrote.
transcendent
lugubrious
witty
sardonic
ethereal
lugubrious
“Lugubrious” means overly gloomy or sad. It is the only choice that would make friends worry.
Example Question #475 : Adjectives And Adverbs In One Blank Texts
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
Critics dismissed the new TV show as “unoriginal” and “a __________ re-tread of every show of its kind we've seen in the last few years.”
spurious
dogmatic
banal
laconic
cogent
banal
The TV show is described as "unoriginal," and "banal" is the only synonym for that here. It means unoriginal and uninspiring.
Example Question #476 : Adjectives And Adverbs In One Blank Texts
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
Always needing a spotlessly clean working space, the man was __________ in dusting and organizing his office.
carefree
fastidious
feeble
impartial
apprehensive
fastidious
The man is obviously not "carefree," and there's nothing to show he is "apprehensive," "impartial," or "feeble." "Fastidious" makes the most sense.
Example Question #477 : Adjectives And Adverbs In One Blank Texts
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
The __________ piece of jewelry shone brighter than any other in the store, but was fake and actually close to worthless.
spurious
economical
controversial
ostentatious
genuine
ostentatious
The answer needs to mean “showy, but not actually as good as it appears on the surface." "Ostentatious" means this.
Example Question #478 : Adjectives And Adverbs In One Blank Texts
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
The __________ girl sat in the back and rarely spoke up in class, afraid to draw attention to herself.
effusive
intrepid
intransigent
diffident
enigmatic
diffident
The girl is obviously shy and afraid, which means she is "diffident."
Example Question #479 : Adjectives And Adverbs In One Blank Texts
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
As a newcomer to the subject, the student had to persevere and make sense of the __________ writings he found in his research.
cogent
loquacious
irksome
erudite
cognizant
erudite
The writings seem to be complicated and obscure, and thus hard to get through for a newcomer. This is the meaning of "erudite."
Example Question #1131 : One Blank Texts
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
The __________ subjects covered by the conference's talks range from robotics and programming to meditation and literature.
hermeneutic
reviled
ostentatious
perceptive
eclectic
eclectic
“Eclectic” denotes a broad or all-encompassing range of something, in this case, of subjects covered by the talks. As the sentence shows, the talks cover robotics to literature, which certainly represents a wide range of topics.
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