GRE Verbal : Parts of Speech in One-Blank Texts
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for GRE Verbal
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Example Questions
Example Question #144 : Adjectives And Adverbs In One Blank Texts
The film's ___________________ humor was looked down on by intellectual critics.
perspicacious
superlative
sophomoric
exemplary
acerbic
sophomoric
The film is "looked down on by the intellectual critics," meaning the humor is unappealing to intellectuals. The correct answer needs to mean the opposite of "intellectual." "Sophomoric," meaning juvenile or conceited, is the best fit.
Example Question #796 : One Blank Texts
The _________________ city councilman was an easy target for underworld bribery.
venal
venerable
mercurial
disinterested
irreproachable
venal
The city councilman is "an easy target" for bribery. The correct answer needs to mean corruptible or able to be bribed, the definition of "venal."
Example Question #145 : Adjectives And Adverbs In One Blank Texts
The book was highly derivative, with a ___________________ plotline.
supercilious
novel
cliché
innovative
avant garde
cliché
The plotline for a "highly derivative" book will be old and common, and the correct answer should illuminate this. "Cliché," meaning an overused and unoriginal phrase or idea, is the best choice.
Example Question #146 : Adjectives And Adverbs In One Blank Texts
Standing in the presence of his idol, he quickly became _____________ and unable to speak.
poised
flustered
salacious
articulate
ebullient
flustered
The inability to speak "in the presence of his idol," indicates the subject was bothered and agitated, and the correct answer will reflect this. "Flustered," meaning worked up or problematically excited, is the best choice.
Example Question #147 : Adjectives And Adverbs In One Blank Texts
His ________________ lectures usually made half the class zone out after fifteen minutes.
soporific
vivacious
effusive
affable
ebullient
soporific
The fact the class would "zone out after fifteen minutes" indicates the lectures were quite boring and the correct answer will reflect this. "Soporific," meaning excessively drawn out and sleep inducing, is the correct answer.
Example Question #831 : Text Completion
The students used to love the young priest’s sermons, which he delivered so __________, as though he were directing a flowing symphony, but with words.
pacifically
didactically
vociferously
mellifluously
tonally
mellifluously
The most temping wrong answer would be "pacifically" (so long as you are not taken in by "tonally" just because of the reference to the symphony). "Pacific" comes from the Latin pax, pacis, which means peace, and facio—from which we get many of our "-fy", "-fic" endings—meaning to make.
The operative word here, however, is "flowing", which is better matched by "mellifluous." The "fluous" portion clearly means flowing. The "mellli" portion comes from the Latin mel or Greek meli, meaning honey. Very distantly, the word "molasses" comes from this same base.
Example Question #149 : Adjectives And Adverbs In One Blank Texts
The fact he was so ______________ allowed him to talk his way past many barriers.
fortuitous
bellicose
taciturn
obtuse
articulate
articulate
The subject is able "to talk his way past many barriers." This means the missing word will indicate his ability to speak. "Articulate," meaning well spoken and literate, is the best choice.
Example Question #801 : One Blank Texts
The school was so ________________ that they had not bought new furniture in over two decades.
frugal
lavish
supercilious
excessive
judicious
frugal
The school has "not bought new furniture," meaning that the school is either unwilling or unable to spend money. The correct answer should mean extremely economical or penny-pinching, the definition of "frugal."
Example Question #802 : One Blank Texts
The Board President resigned after the company took measures _______________ to her values.
contemporary
imitative
inimical
disinterested
impartial
inimical
A "Board President" leaving a company over values indicates a disagreement, and the correct answer must reflect this. "Inimical," meaning at odds with or hostile to, is the best choice.
Example Question #803 : One Blank Texts
His _____________ temperament made it hard for his family to make concrete plans.
mercurial
meticulous
poised
perspicacious
punctilious
mercurial
The man's temperament causes "concrete plans" to be difficult. The correct answer needs to indicate what creates such a hardship. "Mercurial," meaning volatile and changeable, like the metal mercury, is the best choice.
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