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Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
He was __________ and known to make friends easily with his friendly, __________ banter.
To be "gregarious" means to be social and to enjoy companionship. To be "loquacious" is to be talkative. In this case, it makes sense that a gregarious, social person would be talkative.
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Choose the word or set of words that, when inserted into the sentence, best completes the sentence.
The young monk was finally fed up with the __________ actions of his confrère, whose sweet-seeming piety was a mask for a judgmental, indeed __________, attitude.
The key phrase is the intensifying "indeed . . ." Here, the only option is "acrid," which can mean not only bitter and angry, but also sarcastic in tone. The first word, "sanctimonious," fits as well, for it indicates being showy with one's holiness—from the Latin word sanctus, whence we derive other words like "sancity" and "sanctify."
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Fill in the blanks with the best answers.
In an effort to deliver a more __________ curriculum for her young students, the teacher referenced __________ themes in her lecture.
In this question, there are more possibilities for the blanks: the teacher can use popular themes to deliver a new curriculum, or classical themes to deliver a classical curriculum, etc. Here only "apposite" and "au courant" match with each other; "apposite" means appropriate while "au courant" refers to something up-to-date. "Canonical" and "prosaic" are valid options for the first blank, but do not have an adequate matching word for the second blank. Be careful of similar sounding words with completely different meanings: apposite / opposite, opprobrious / appropriate.
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Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
Sam had always been __________, even during the most serious of situations; on the contrary, his friend Isidore was perhaps the sternest person he knew—unable to suffer any humor even at the most __________ times.
The sentence clearly is trying to contrast Sam and Isidore ("On the contrary . . ."). The sense of the sentence is that Sam is upbeat in the worst of situations, while Isidore is never able to suffer such light-hearteness in the best of times.
This immediately eliminates "amorous . . . dolorous," because "dolorous" does not fit. It really is not a matter of "maturity," so "immature . . . convivial" isn't directly spot on. "Disconsolate" means hopelessly sad, so "disconsolate . . . jovial" is out. The last two choices are the toughest: "joyful . . . uplifiting" and "jocular . . . festive." The latter is correct, because "jocular" captures the sense of joking that is indicated in the sentence about Isidore. "Joyful" is related but just a bit shy.
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Choose the word or set of words that, when inserted into the sentence, best completes the sentence.
Youthful energy had often led Jeremiah to undertake __________ tasks merely for the sake of their difficulty. With age, however, he learned that this bent had often led to a __________ expenditure of energy.
The sense of the blanks implies that the tasks were difficult or tiring (or something of the like). The second blank implies that such energy was not well spent (particularly because of the key word "however").
The most tempting answers are "gargantuan . . . stunning", "heroic . . . significant," and "multitude . . . surprising"; however, in both cases, the second word does not match the negative sense implied by the "however."
"Strenuous, frivolous" best captures the sense of these two blanks.
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Choose the word or set of words that, when inserted into the sentence, best completes the sentence.
The prosecutor had been __________ in developing his case against the young defendent. When the latter's innocence was proven by __________ evidence, the official was aghast that he was nearly blinded by his desire to win the case.
Do not be tricked by "desire" into thinking that "avaricous" is an acceptable value for the first blank. Many of the other answers are far from the mark. The clear sense of the sentence indicates that the first blank addresses the prosecutor's zeal and devotion to the case. (This could make some answers tempting, such as "untiring" or "devoted"); however, the case for "zealous" is strengthened by the meaning of "exculpatory," namely, removing the guilt from one, which fulfills the sense of the second blank describing the evidence that led to proof of the young man's innocence.
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The raft floated on the ocean waves, lulling the young man to sleep under the rays of the summer sun.
"Buoyantly, warm" is a trap to try to get you to choose a seemingly close, "practice list" word—buoyant—with "warm," luring you because of the apparent connection to the sun rays. Likewise, "ceaselessly . . . fleeting" tries to trap you into overthinking the answer. The sense of the sentence wants you to consider the calmness of the waves because of the key word "lulling;" therefore, the best answer is "placidly" (calmly) and "undulating" (moving like a wave—with the overtone of gentleness, though not necessarily).
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Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
Though the apple orchard had a great reputation, there were quite a few _________________ and ________________ trees by the barn.
“Bucolic” describes ideal country living and thus doesn’t pair well with “sickly.” “Contrite” means feeling remorse. “Fallow” means left unplowed and unseeded, and “florid” means healthy red or flowery. This leaves us with “diseased . . . acarpous” as the correct answer.
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Choose the word or set of words that, when inserted into the sentence, best completes the sentence.
Although you may think that statecraft is a daunting affair, you should investigate the __________ complexities of __________ politics practiced by hierarchical churchmen.
For the first blank, it is key to note the intensification implied from the first clause to the second one. The second blank aims to describe the style of politics. If you note both of these clues, you might be tempted to choose "extravagant . . . sacrosanct"; however, "sacrosanct" really indicates holiness. Don't be tricked by this kind of surface-level proximity to "churchmen." Also, "extravagant" is a bit weak for the purpose of intensifying the notion of complexity (though it could work if no better options were available). There is a better option, however: "labyrinthine . . . ecclesiastical."
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Suzanne never doubted the words of even the most __________ liar. Her __________ personality led her to fall into the plotting hands of even the most well known scoundrels.
From the context, it would seem that Suzanne has a rather innocent and naïve personality. (She misses even the most well known scoundrels.) Now, we might call the liar "notable," but in this case, "forgiving" does not completely fit as well as does the correct answer. "Mendacious" does in a sense reduplicate the sense of lying, but in so doing, it strengthens the indictment against such persons. Particularly, "ingenuous" captures Suzanne's innocent and unsuspecting personality.
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After fifty years of marriage, affairs still did not tire the old couple. They persevered in the often overwhelming duties of their life-long commitment.
Several of these options are tempting. Perhaps "amorous" and "joyfully" seem to make sense, as does "tedious" and "lovingly." The key phrase, though, is "often overwhelming." This indicates that the perseverance is more than a minor affair of "pushing along;" therefore, it would be best to have a word to capture a certain tenacity in this regard. "Rapaciously" does not really fit the bill for this, but "doggedly" does. Likewise, "connubial" means related to marriage and thus fits the fact that the duties are "of" the life-long commitment. That is, they are "of a marital nature" (or at least related thereto).
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Hospitals are rapidly switching away from the old method, almost already considered , in favor of a new one with fewer effects.
The first blank emphasizes the oldness of the method, so the only answer that makes sense is "obsolete." The second blank implies that the effects are bad in some way, which is described by "deleterious." "Boorish" would be used to describe a person, not “effects."
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Not used to the etiquette of high society, the common man behaved __________, much to the chagrin of the __________ and endlessly polite dinner guests.
The man most likely did not follow the rules of high etiquette, or behaved indecorously. The dinner guests, on the other hand, seem to over-value the rules of politeness, being prudish.
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Choose the word or set of words that, when inserted into the sentence, best completes the sentence.
The young are often naïve and __________, aiming at __________ schemes that in reality cannot be accomplished.
The key here is to note that the young often think they can accomplish more than they actually can. For this reason, the most likely candidate, at first glance, would be "bright-eyed"; however, the option having "grandiose" for its second word is closer in that regard. The key here is to remember a (fictional) man of chivalrous idealism—Don Quixote—from whose name we derive the adjective "quixotic," meaning impractical in the pursuit of ideals. This fits just as well as "bright-eyed," if not better. Coupled with "grandiose," it makes for the correct pick.
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Choose the word or set of words that, when inserted into the sentence, best completes the sentence.
The __________ teenagers upset the older women with their __________ behavior.
The sentence gives few clues, but it does tell us that the behavior of the teenagers upset the older women. So, the word that goes in the first blank must describe a personality trait that could potentially upset someone else; thus, we can eliminate "reticent" (rarely speaking) and "egalitarian" (fair and equal), neither of which make sense in the sentence. It is possible, though, that being "boorish" (ill-mannered and rude), "puerile" (immature), or "histrionic" (excessively dramatic) could upset someone else. Examining the remaining potential answers for the second blank describing the teenagers' behavior—"callow" (immature) "sophisticated" (complex or experienced) and "poised" (elegant)—only "callow" makes sense in the sentence, so "boorish . . . callow" is the correct answer.
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Choose the word or set of words that, when inserted into the sentence, best completes the sentence.
The CEO's __________ comments were distinctly at odds with his usually __________ nature.
The sentence explicitly notes that the two descriptions are "distinctly at odds," so the correct answer will have two words that mean opposite things. "Terse," meaning concise and to the point, and "loquacious," meaning extremely talkative, together make the best choice.
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Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
Bill, known as a __________ individual, made an uncharacteristically __________ decision when he decided to drive to Las Vegas on a whim.
For the first choice, "chary" works best as it means careful or cautious, while "vigilant" has a different connotation, closer to watchful for danger. The second choice must mean rash, which is the definition of "impetuous."
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Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
My opponent's promises of economic growth may seem __________, but in fact they are so __________ as to be little better than outright lies.
The writer states that his opponent is making promises that seem to be one way, but in fact are the opposite. The opposite is phrased as "no better than outright lies," so the second blank is a work that probably means false or wrong in some way. That implies that the first word is a positive one, so we are looking for a positive and negative pair of words, with the second one meaning false, illusionary, or incorrect.
"Interesting" is not a bad choice for the first blank, as promises of economic growth would likely be interesting, but the second word, "aphoristic," is nonsensical here—it means pithy, like a brief slogan or statement. There is no connotation of truth or falsehood in connection with an aphorism, so we can rule that pair out.
"Fanciful" is a word meaning unrealistic. If this statement were in praise of the opponent's economic ideas, the statement would start out negative ("fanciful") and switch to something postive instead, such as "sound." But the second word is definitely negative, so this pair isn't right.
"Obsequious" is a word meaning "having a servile attitude". It's hard to see how this word could apply to economic ideas. And the second word, "grandiloquent," means simply talking in a grandiose manner, which says nothing about the truth of the statements being made.
"Redundant," like "fanciful," is a negative word, meaning needlessly repetitive. This, again, does not fit the structure of the sentence, which is going from positive to negative. The second word, "egotistical," is also a negative, which does not fit.
In the correct answer, the first word is positive—"alluring", meaning attractive, which promises of economic growth certainly would be—and the second word, "meretricious," means misleading or false. This is a perfect fit and is the correct answer.
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Choose the word or set of words that, when inserted into the sentence, best completes the sentence.
He gave his careless companion a __________ look, though he realized his angry expression would be lost in the __________ darkness within the cave.
The sentence indicates that the man's look was angry. The only words that might fit that are "baleful" and "irate." "Sidereal" means having to do with the stars and is nonsensical here; "solicitous" means caring or inquiring; and "avaricious" means greedy. The second word has to describe darkness in a cave, which makes it impossible for the two people to see each other's faces. "Inchoate" means unformed or undeveloped, so it's not a word one would use to describe darkness. "Stygian" refers to a complete and unfathomable darkness like that thought to exist over the river Styx in mythology, so the answer is "baleful . . . stygian."
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Choose the word or set of words that, when inserted into the sentence, best completes the sentence.
After the drought, we were left with __________ cacti that managed to grow despite the water shortage, and a __________ lawn that hadn't been so hardy.
For the first blank, we're looking for a word that means growing, so we can eliminate the answer choices that start with "waning," "wilting," and "antediluvian." Considering the remaining choices, we're looking for a word for the second blank that means dry or dead. Since "arable" means able to be cultivated, we can eliminate that choice in favor of "desiccated," which means dried out. The correct answer choice is "burgeoning . . . desiccated."
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