GRE Verbal : GRE Verbal Reasoning
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for GRE Verbal
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Example Questions
Example Question #1201 : Gre Verbal Reasoning
William Wordsworth describes __________ days spent amidst nature and nature's tranquility in his literary works, particularly in the well-known poem entitled Daffodils.
ephemeral
lugubrious
halcyon
enervating
wanton
halcyon
In his poems, Wordsworth writes about halcyon days spent in the serenity and calm of nature. Thus, the best fit in describing his naturalistic poetry is to describe the days he portrays as halcyon.
Example Question #1202 : Gre Verbal Reasoning
The __________ boxer often took his fighting outside the ring, getting into minor scuffles everywhere he went.
torpid
noisome
bellicose
insular
phlegmatic
bellicose
We're looking for a word that describes the boxer as being very war-like and eager to fight, so the answer is "bellicose," which means exactly that—aggressive and willing to fight.
Example Question #1203 : Gre Verbal Reasoning
The speaker's __________ lecture caused a large amount of controversy among the students.
irreproachable
tendentious
incomprehensible
extemporized
tortuous
tendentious
The sentence notes that the speaker's lecture "caused a large amount of controversy." The correct answer will reflect this ability to cause a strong reaction. "Tendentious," meaning biased or dogmatic, is the best choice among the answers.
Example Question #1204 : Gre Verbal Reasoning
The __________ reading assigment was difficult for many students to even finish, let alone comprehend.
deferential
complacent
affable
tortuous
heralded
tortuous
The book is mentioned to be "difficult" to "comprehend" by most students. This means the correct answer will reflect this difficulty. "Tortuous," meaning indirect and painfully long-winded, is the best choice among the answers.
Example Question #1205 : Gre Verbal Reasoning
The __________ movement was finding difficulty gaining traction and growing.
nascent
heralded
fortified
populist
luminous
nascent
The movement had "difficulty gaining traction and growing." This indicates the correct answer will show the movement was not very strong. "Nascent," meaning new or emerging, is the best choice among the answers.
Example Question #1206 : Gre Verbal Reasoning
The __________ illness showed itself as the patient lost fifty pounds in just a few months.
contentious
tendentious
uplifting
immoderate
debilitating
debilitating
The illness has caused the patient to lose "fifty pounds in a few months." This means the illness is severely harming the patient. "Debilitating," meaning weakening or draining, is the best answer choice.
Example Question #1207 : Gre Verbal Reasoning
Angry villagers swung torches and pitchforks, and the __________ mob that they constituted threatened looked like it might become violent at any moment.
volatile
aberrant
contrite
ostensible
onerous
volatile
We're looking for an adjective that means something like unstable and conveys how a situation might grow worse. Since "volatile" means liable to change rapidly and unpredictably, especially for the worse, "volatile" is the correct answer.
Example Question #1208 : Gre Verbal Reasoning
Many players viewed the old coach's speeches as being __________, and impossible to challenge in any way.
inerrant
inchoate
inexplicable
incoherent
incognito
inerrant
The players are "unable to challenge" the coach's speeches. This means the correct answer will indicate this inability to question the coach's words. "Inerrant," meaning completely correct and without errors, is the best choice among the answers.
Example Question #1209 : Gre Verbal Reasoning
"The __________ duke didn't really care which of the warring factions claimed the throne, so long as it bribed him to support its cause."
insipid
guileful
invidious
venal
timorous
venal
We're looking for an adjective that conveys how easily the duke is bribed. Since "venal" means "susceptible to bribery," it is the correct answer.
Example Question #1210 : Gre Verbal Reasoning
Because the supplies only arrived __________, the explorers never knew when they were going to run out of food, so they took to learning how to forage and hunt.
fortuitously
sporadically
benignly
facetiously
salubriously
sporadically
We're looking for an adverb that describes how the explorers didn't receive supplies on a regular schedule, but rather, received them at random. Because "sporadic" means "occurring at irregular intervals or only in a few places; scattered or isolated," "sporadically" is the best answer choice.
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