We tend to think of "infections" as being physical illnesses. Thus, "to infect" something means to give it an illness. The word "infect" can also be used to describe any kind of adding of pollution to an environment—be that pollution biological or merely other physical trash. Indeed, we can "pollute" water merely by adding a poison to it. Thus, the word "contaminate" can be used as a synonym for "infect."

For this question, you need to be very careful. The word "slay" indicates a very violent way of killing someone. It is not merely a matter of hurting, harming, or even merely "killing." The best option will be the one that expresses this idea of killing in a very violent manner. The only word that does so is "massacre." When a massacre occurs, it is a very violent act of murder or killing.

The word "replicate" literally means to fold something over itself. In its normal use, the word means to copy or create a duplicate. You could say, "Peter tried to replicate the train, making a small model that exactly matched the proportions of the full-sized train." The word "replicate" can be used as a noun that means a copy. Thus, you can say, "The statue was a replicate of the Empire State Building." This means that the statue was a copy.

Whenever we "hinder" someone from doing something, we prevent him or her from accomplishing his or her goal. We block progress toward the goal. The best synonym would therefore be "block," "obscure," or even "prevent"; however, the only word that works among the options provided here is "delay." When we "hinder" someone, we do "delay" him or her from achieving his or her goal.

The word "target" can be used as a noun or as a verb. As a verb, it describes what we do when we select one thing out of a group. For instance, advertisers target particular groups, meaning that they select out and aim at certain groups with their advertisements. As a noun, "target" names the particular thing that has been selected. Thus, the given group is the target of the advertisers. In this question, the options are all verbs, so we clearly are looking for something like "select," which is the best option provided.

"Devious" is defined as showing a skillful use of underhanded tactics to achieve goals.

This is closest in definition to "sneaky." Although someone who is devious may be "reprehensible," meaning deserving censure or condemnation, is not a close match.

The word eloquent is often used in regards to eloquent language or writing.  It indicates that someone is expressive or well-spoken.

"Clumsy" is an adjective that can have a variety of meanings, including "awkward in movement or in handling things," "done awkwardly or without skill or elegance," "difficult to handle or use; unwieldy," "or "lacking social skills and graces." So, "graceful" cannot be the correct answer because it means the opposite of "clumsy." "Awkward," however, which can mean "not smooth or graceful; ungainly," is the closest synonym to "clumsy" amongst the listed answer choices, so "awkward" is the correct answer.

"Optimistic" is an adjective that means "hopeful and confident about the future." So, we need to pick out an answer choice that means something like "hopeful" or "confident." "Negative," then, cannot be the correct answer because "negative" is an antonym of "optimistic." "Positive," however, is an adjective that can mean " thinking that a good result will happen : hopeful or optimistic," and because "positive" is the answer choice closest in meaning to "optimistic," "positive" is the correct answer.

“Quirky” is an adjective that means “characterized by unexpected traits,” so we need to pick out an answer choice that means something like “peculiar.” That means that “conventional” cannot be the correct answer, because “conventional” means “concerned with what is acceptable” when used to describe a person, making it an antonym, not a synonym, of “quirky.” “Eccentric,” however, is an adjective that means “unconventional and slightly strange” when describing a person or a person’s behavior, and because “eccentric” is the answer choice closest in meaning to “quirky,” “eccentric” is the correct answer.