GRE Verbal : GRE Verbal Reasoning
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for GRE Verbal
All GRE Verbal Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #1411 : Gre Verbal Reasoning
Fill in the blank with the best answer.
The cellist delivered a(n) _________ performance which demonstrated none of the passion and improvisation she was once known for.
exhaustive
ephemeral
meticulous
perfunctory
vogue
perfunctory
"Perfunctory" describes something superficially or hastily performed. In this context, the cellist, normally a passionate and improvising player, has a performance which is the opposite—either it's bad, boring, or rushed. No words adequately match with bad or boring, so rushed works.
Example Question #1412 : Gre Verbal Reasoning
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
George’s __________ nature became obvious when Martha’s small flub made him fly off the handle.
quiescent
equivocal
saturnine
irascible
bucolic
irascible
“Irascible” means quick to anger. This is the only choice that describes a person who reacts violently to a small “flub” or mistake.
Example Question #1413 : Gre Verbal Reasoning
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
Harris’s friends were worried by the ___________ poems he often wrote.
lugubrious
ethereal
transcendent
sardonic
witty
lugubrious
“Lugubrious” means overly gloomy or sad. It is the only choice that would make friends worry.
Example Question #1414 : Gre Verbal Reasoning
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
Critics dismissed the new TV show as “unoriginal” and “a __________ re-tread of every show of its kind we've seen in the last few years.”
spurious
banal
laconic
cogent
dogmatic
banal
The TV show is described as "unoriginal," and "banal" is the only synonym for that here. It means unoriginal and uninspiring.
Example Question #1415 : Gre Verbal Reasoning
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
Always needing a spotlessly clean working space, the man was __________ in dusting and organizing his office.
feeble
apprehensive
carefree
impartial
fastidious
fastidious
The man is obviously not "carefree," and there's nothing to show he is "apprehensive," "impartial," or "feeble." "Fastidious" makes the most sense.
Example Question #1416 : Gre Verbal Reasoning
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
The __________ piece of jewelry shone brighter than any other in the store, but was fake and actually close to worthless.
spurious
economical
controversial
ostentatious
genuine
ostentatious
The answer needs to mean “showy, but not actually as good as it appears on the surface." "Ostentatious" means this.
Example Question #1417 : Gre Verbal Reasoning
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
The __________ girl sat in the back and rarely spoke up in class, afraid to draw attention to herself.
intransigent
effusive
intrepid
diffident
enigmatic
diffident
The girl is obviously shy and afraid, which means she is "diffident."
Example Question #1418 : Gre Verbal Reasoning
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
As a newcomer to the subject, the student had to persevere and make sense of the __________ writings he found in his research.
irksome
loquacious
cogent
cognizant
erudite
erudite
The writings seem to be complicated and obscure, and thus hard to get through for a newcomer. This is the meaning of "erudite."
Example Question #1419 : Gre Verbal Reasoning
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
The __________ subjects covered by the conference's talks range from robotics and programming to meditation and literature.
reviled
eclectic
perceptive
hermeneutic
ostentatious
eclectic
“Eclectic” denotes a broad or all-encompassing range of something, in this case, of subjects covered by the talks. As the sentence shows, the talks cover robotics to literature, which certainly represents a wide range of topics.
Example Question #1420 : Gre Verbal Reasoning
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
The recent transformation of the television show into season-long narratives has allowed television writers to tell more complex and __________ stories.
inane
desultory
succinct
multifaceted
unremarkable
multifaceted
The key word in the above sentence is “complex,” and its use with “and” tells you to look for a synonym of “complex.” Of the four answer choices, only "multifaceted" is a synonym for “complex.”
All GRE Verbal Resources
