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.
wanton
enervating
lugubrious
halcyon
ephemeral
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.
insular
phlegmatic
bellicose
noisome
torpid
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 #891 : Parts Of Speech In One Blank Texts
The speaker's __________ lecture caused a large amount of controversy among the students.
tendentious
irreproachable
extemporized
incomprehensible
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 #892 : Parts Of Speech In One Blank Texts
The __________ reading assigment was difficult for many students to even finish, let alone comprehend.
heralded
complacent
deferential
affable
tortuous
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 #893 : Parts Of Speech In One Blank Texts
The __________ movement was finding difficulty gaining traction and growing.
populist
nascent
luminous
fortified
heralded
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 #1203 : Gre Verbal Reasoning
The __________ illness showed itself as the patient lost fifty pounds in just a few months.
tendentious
uplifting
immoderate
contentious
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 #895 : Parts Of Speech In One Blank Texts
Angry villagers swung torches and pitchforks, and the __________ mob that they constituted threatened looked like it might become violent at any moment.
contrite
aberrant
volatile
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 #896 : Parts Of Speech In One Blank Texts
Many players viewed the old coach's speeches as being __________, and impossible to challenge in any way.
inchoate
incognito
inexplicable
inerrant
incoherent
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 #897 : Parts Of Speech In One Blank Texts
"The __________ duke didn't really care which of the warring factions claimed the throne, so long as it bribed him to support its cause."
timorous
invidious
insipid
venal
guileful
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 #898 : Parts Of Speech In One Blank Texts
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.
sporadically
fortuitously
facetiously
benignly
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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