GRE Verbal : GRE Verbal Reasoning
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for GRE Verbal
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Example Questions
Example Question #1081 : Gre Verbal Reasoning
Both sides agreed the controversy needed a(n) _________________ party to help resolve the conflict.
zealots
hackneyed
enthusiastic
sycophantic
disinterested
disinterested
The party described by the missing word is attempting to resolve the "controversy." The correct answer needs to reflect a person who could work with both sides. "Disinterested," meaning unbiased or neutral, is the best answer choice.
Example Question #1082 : Gre Verbal Reasoning
She was ________________ enough to claim that she was not at a party, but she was caught on a surveillance camera.
perspicacious
venerable
innocuous
irreproachable
mendacious
mendacious
To claim she was not where "she was caught on a surveillance camera," indicates that she was less than honest. The correct answer should mean prone to lying or deception, the definition of "mendacious."
Example Question #1083 : Gre Verbal Reasoning
The film's ___________________ humor was looked down on by intellectual critics.
sophomoric
acerbic
exemplary
perspicacious
superlative
sophomoric
The film is "looked down on by the intellectual critics," meaning the humor is unappealing to intellectuals. The correct answer needs to mean the opposite of "intellectual." "Sophomoric," meaning juvenile or conceited, is the best fit.
Example Question #141 : Adjectives And Adverbs In One Blank Texts
The _________________ city councilman was an easy target for underworld bribery.
disinterested
mercurial
venal
venerable
irreproachable
venal
The city councilman is "an easy target" for bribery. The correct answer needs to mean corruptible or able to be bribed, the definition of "venal."
Example Question #1084 : Gre Verbal Reasoning
The book was highly derivative, with a ___________________ plotline.
cliché
avant garde
novel
innovative
supercilious
cliché
The plotline for a "highly derivative" book will be old and common, and the correct answer should illuminate this. "Cliché," meaning an overused and unoriginal phrase or idea, is the best choice.
Example Question #1084 : Gre Verbal Reasoning
Standing in the presence of his idol, he quickly became _____________ and unable to speak.
ebullient
poised
salacious
articulate
flustered
flustered
The inability to speak "in the presence of his idol," indicates the subject was bothered and agitated, and the correct answer will reflect this. "Flustered," meaning worked up or problematically excited, is the best choice.
Example Question #1085 : Gre Verbal Reasoning
His ________________ lectures usually made half the class zone out after fifteen minutes.
affable
vivacious
soporific
ebullient
effusive
soporific
The fact the class would "zone out after fifteen minutes" indicates the lectures were quite boring and the correct answer will reflect this. "Soporific," meaning excessively drawn out and sleep inducing, is the correct answer.
Example Question #1086 : Gre Verbal Reasoning
The students used to love the young priest’s sermons, which he delivered so __________, as though he were directing a flowing symphony, but with words.
vociferously
tonally
mellifluously
didactically
pacifically
mellifluously
The most temping wrong answer would be "pacifically" (so long as you are not taken in by "tonally" just because of the reference to the symphony). "Pacific" comes from the Latin pax, pacis, which means peace, and facio—from which we get many of our "-fy", "-fic" endings—meaning to make.
The operative word here, however, is "flowing", which is better matched by "mellifluous." The "fluous" portion clearly means flowing. The "mellli" portion comes from the Latin mel or Greek meli, meaning honey. Very distantly, the word "molasses" comes from this same base.
Example Question #1088 : Gre Verbal Reasoning
The fact he was so ______________ allowed him to talk his way past many barriers.
obtuse
fortuitous
articulate
bellicose
taciturn
articulate
The subject is able "to talk his way past many barriers." This means the missing word will indicate his ability to speak. "Articulate," meaning well spoken and literate, is the best choice.
Example Question #1087 : Gre Verbal Reasoning
The school was so ________________ that they had not bought new furniture in over two decades.
excessive
frugal
supercilious
judicious
lavish
frugal
The school has "not bought new furniture," meaning that the school is either unwilling or unable to spend money. The correct answer should mean extremely economical or penny-pinching, the definition of "frugal."
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