GRE Verbal : GRE Verbal Reasoning
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for GRE Verbal
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Example Questions
Example Question #661 : Gre Verbal Reasoning
His status as a well respected investor was merely an __________ to trick people into investing in his scheme.
onus
artifice
itinerant
ingrate
exemplar
artifice
The sentence notes outright that his "status as a well respected investor" is a trick. The correct answer will reinforce this description. "Artifice," meaning a deceptive or false front, is the best choice.
Example Question #662 : Gre Verbal Reasoning
The playwright was shocked that audiences took __________ at a play he believed was quite tame.
solvence
relaxation
umbrage
expiation
atonement
umbrage
Although the playwright believes his work is "quite tame," the structure of the sentence indicates his audience saw it differently. This means the correct answer will indicate the audience saw some level of offense or sense of injury, the definition of "umbrage."
Example Question #663 : Gre Verbal Reasoning
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
After he was revealed to have lied repeatedly, everyone doubted the __________ of his claims.
corpulence
veracity
mendacity
spuriousness
zenith
veracity
The subject is "lying repeatedly," and people doubt his claims. The correct answer must show people expected the subject of the sentence to lie. "Veracity," meaning truthfulness, is the best choice.
Example Question #664 : Gre Verbal Reasoning
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
The report put the __________ of the problem on the city's police and minimized the fault of other groups.
bulwark
preamble
bane
onus
exegesis
onus
The sentence notes the report "minimized the fault" for the other, non-police groups. This means the police do get a large amount of blame. "Onus," meaning burden or weight, is the correct answer choice.
Example Question #665 : Gre Verbal Reasoning
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
Upon exiting the courthouse, the witness in the high-profile case found himself surrounded by a _________ of reporters, cameras and paparazzi.
venery
junket
jape
raft
lacuna
raft
Since we know that this is a high-profile case, we can imagine a large number of people surrounding the witness. So we are looking for a word that mean "a large number". The word "raft" is a bit obscure. This is simply one you may need to memorize, but it may be helpful to think of a large number of inflatable rafts, a raft of rafts.
Example Question #666 : Gre Verbal Reasoning
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
Richard Posner, who in addition to being a judge is also a recognized literary critic, economist, political theorist, and philosopher, is a fine example of a modern-day __________.
misanthrope
polymath
paragon
benefactor
demagogue
polymath
The focus of the question is on the diversity of fields in which Posner is an expert. So we are looking for a word that means something like "many talents." Our answer here is "polymath" and the prefix "poly-" means "many" (think of "polygamy", meaning "many wives"). So even if we don't know what polymath means, the prefix gives us a great clue.
Example Question #667 : Gre Verbal Reasoning
Fill in the blank with the best answer.
The company's move to allow more employees to work from their homes, although supported by many, will increase individual production while reducing workers' _________ with peers.
discordance
value
emolument
synergy
estrangement
synergy
"Synergy" means combined action. "Emolument" is the money paid for services; the passage does not provide any evidence that work-at-home employees will be paid less.
Example Question #668 : Gre Verbal Reasoning
Fill in the blank with the best answer.
Although some see Nostradamus as offering valid _________, his critics believe many of his prophecies were explained after the event.
elegies
vindications
mandates
anecdotes
auguries
auguries
"Augury" refers to a predicted event or an omen. Nostradamus could have written anecdotes or stories, but that word doesn't fit within the context of the sentence, which is referring to prophecies.
Example Question #669 : Gre Verbal Reasoning
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
They searched the library for hours, but there was a(n) __________ of informative literature on metallurgy.
surfeit
dearth
inundation
glut
passel
dearth
"Dearth" means a lack or an absence of. Since the second phrase begins with “but,” the word in the blank must indicate a meaning counter to the expectation of finding a lot of information that was set up in the first phrase.
Example Question #670 : Gre Verbal Reasoning
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
When his friend described the skyscraper as “reaching all the way to outer space,” John suspected he was using __________.
illusion
obscurity
hyperbole
metaphor
facsimile
hyperbole
His friend is using an exaggeration to describe the building, and hyperbole is this kind of stretching the truth.
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