“Diligent” means careful, hard-working, and taking care to do something well, so "careful" is the best synonym amongst the answer choices. “Approachable” means friendly and thus easily approached; “demonstrative” means demonstrating something or openly showing feelings or affection; “eloquent” means well-spoken; and “elegant” means having grace, sophistication, and good taste.

“Capricious” means changing in response to the slightest whims, so "changeable" is the correct answer. Being “reliable” is the opposite of being “capricious”; “flexible” means bendable; “humane” means compassionate or treating something like a human should be treated; and "wanton” means random.

“Dissolute” means of poor moral character, depraved and debauched. “Depraved” means lacking moral character or doing sinful or immoral things, so it is the correct answer. “Imperious” means arrogant and controlling; “laudable” means deserving of praise; “meddlesome” means interfering or prone to getting involved in situations in which one is not supposed to; “vulnerable” means able to be hurt or damaged.

“Contemptuous” means showing scorn and hatred for something, so "scornful" is the correct answer. As for the other answer choices, “remorseful” means full of guilt and sadness over something one did wrong; “docile” means calm and compliant; “impregnable” means unable to be captured or broken; and “surreptitious” means secret and sneaky.

“Gregarious” means friendly and sociable, so "sociable" is the correct answer. As for the other answer choices, “implacable” means unappeasable, unable to be placated, or not forgiving; “domineering” means controlling; “complementary” means something that works well with something else; and “supplementary” means additional.

Someone who is “stoic” is unemotional and unresponsive when faced with painful or difficult situations, so "unemotional" is the best answer. As for the other answer choices, “responsive” means reacting or done in response; “critical,” when referring to the significance of something, means highly important, though it can also mean pointing out the faults in something; “fortuitous” means owed to good-fortune or lucky; and “frivolous” means purposeless and not serious.

“Garrulous” means talkative, so "talkative" is the correct answer. As for the other answer choices, “austere” means severe or severe-looking; “ironic” describes a situation in which what you get is not what you expected, often in a funny or wry way; “jovial” means friendly; and “condemning” means heavily criticizing.

“Precocious” means developing more quickly than is usual, though it can also mean talented, clever, or "gifted." As for the other answer choices, “cumbersome” means burdensome or difficult to carry or transport; “incongruous” means not matching the situation at hand and overtly out of place; "frustrated" means annoyed; and "learned" means wise as a result of much time spent learning in an academic setting.

The word “quixotic” entered the English language from the literary work Don Quixote by Cervantes. It tells tales of idealized chivalry, portraying a stylized and “romantic” ideal of the knight. To be “quixotic” is therefore to be idealistic or romantic (in the sense of being idealistic). The name became an adjective, and this word may be well represented for you on many standardized tests.

Although we can think of “sophistication” as implying some sort of academic or mental prowess, this is really just an additional characteristic that follows from the primary meaning of the word. In its strictest sense, something that is “sophisticated” is very developed and perhaps complex. When this is said of a human person, that person is often so named because he or she has a lot of worldly wisdom. In such cases, the person is considered “enlightened”—perhaps only in a worldly way but still more aware of the complexities of life than one less experienced. Among the options given, the non-correct answers all attempt to have you choose based on secondary associations you might have with the word “sophisticated.” Stick as closely as possible to the correct definition. Here “enlightened” does that.