"Religious laws" is a phrase inserted as a trap, as the real clue to the answer is the pairing of the blank with "unnecessary." "Contempt" and "crucial" are antonyms of "unnecessary," while "exempt" and "odious" are not sensible when paired with "unnecessary." "Esoteric," meaning hard to understand, is the correct answer choice.

"The old home," as well as the other adjectives, indicate the sofa itself was old and dirty.  "Hoary," which means old and shabby, is the correct answer choice.

The intimation of the sentence's first clause is that the band has many influences, and this should be supported by their collection. Words like "substantial" and "confounding" may work, but "eclectic," meaning wide ranging and different, is the correct answer.

The "love of cats" is an off trait for someone who is allergic to cats. The correct answer will indicate the strangeness of that love for cats. "Ironic," meaning surprising or unexpected, is the best choice.

While a few of the answer choices could fit, one will fit best. The sentence concerns language abilities, and the correct choice will describe that. "Eloquent," meaning fluent and impressive in speech, is the best fit.

While quite a few of the answer choices fit the sentence, the best choice must be found. The contrast with "no harmful side effects" means the correct answer will mean harmful or disastrous, which is the definition of "deleterious."

Janine's response was surprising, and Rob expected it to be "begrudged," or miserly. This means Janine's response was the opposite of begrudged. "Effusive" describes praise or positive commentary that arrives in large amounts, which works. "Fatuous" means foolish, which wouldn't be positive. "Reluctant" means the same thing as begrudged so it wouldn't be suprising. "Feckless" means careless or without regard, but it has a negative connotation, which also doesn't fit. "Sagacious" means wise, which might be positive but doesn't contrast with praise that is grudging.

A disaster has occurred in the community described in the sentence, and Laura is a local politican. Many expect politicians to be strong, stable role models in such crises, and as such "stoic," which means enduring hardship without showing pain, is the best choice here. 

We're looking for an adjective that describes how the professor's lecture was lengthy and dull. While both "bombastic" and "prolix" are adjectives that can describe speeches, "bombastic" means high-sounding but with little meaning; inflated, whereas "prolix" means using or containing too many words; tediously lengthy and is the best choice for the context of the sentence.

We're looking for an adjective that describes the fake nature of Olivia's compliments, so we're looking for a word that means something like fake. Because of this, "disingenuous," which means not frank, candid, or sincere, is the best answer choice.