A "platitude" is a statement or expression that is overused. Thus, "cliché" is a synonym.

Levity is the quality of being carefree. Thus, "lightheartedness" is the best synonym. While "levity" can describe a type of disposition, "disposition" is not a synonym, and so that is not the correct answer.

"Avarice" means greed. (Example: "The mayor's decision to begin constructing a new subway was born of avarice, as the company he contracted to begin construction actually belonged to him.") Therefore, "greed," being the definition of "avarice," may also serve as a synonym.

"Compensation" means payment, so "payment" is the correct answer.

"Advent" is defined as arrival or coming. The Latin root word "venire" means to come. So, "arrival" is the correct answer. None of the other answers are close in meaning to "advent": “employer” means boss; “death” means the event of dying or demise; “evening” means twilight or sundown; and “confidant” means friend to whom one entrusts secrets.  

"Duplicity" means dishonesty or deceit. The Latin root word, "duplicitas," means doubling.

"Penury" means scarcity or extreme poverty. The Latin root word, "penuria," means want or need.

A “predisposition” is a tendency or liability to think or feel a certain way about something. For example, someone from a violent past might be “predisposed” to violence in the present. The correct answer is thus "tendency," as "tendency" is the answer choice closest in meaning to "predisposition."As for the other answer choices, a “disinclination” is the opposite of a “predisposition”— it is something you are not liable to do; “repudiate” and “renounce” both mean to reject or declare that something is wrong and stop participating in it; and “mar” is a verb that means ruin or make worse.

Since "epitome" is a noun which means "a person or thing that is a perfect example of a particular quality or type," we need to find another noun that means "perfect example of." While "antithesis" may seem like a good answer choice, it is a noun which means "a person or thing that is the direct opposite of someone or something else," so it is the opposite of an "epitome" and not the word we're looking for. "Quintessence," on the other hand, means "the most perfect or typical example of a quality or class"; since it is the answer choice closest in meaning to "epitome," it is the correct answer.

"Dilemma" is a noun that means "a situation in which you have to make a difficult choice," so we need to pick out another word that means something like "problem." "Setback" and "quandary" both appear to be potentially correct answers, "setback" means " a problem that makes progress more difficult or success less likely" and "quandary" means "a situation in which you are confused about what to do." Since "quandary" is closer in meaning to "dilemma," since both words have to do with making difficult choices, "quandary" is the correct answer.