"Conquer" is a verb meaning overcome. The only word with a similar enough meaning to be the correct answer is "defeat," meaning overcome or beat. "Forgive" means pardon or exonerate, whereas "contaminate" means pollute or adulterate. Finally, "befriend" means help out or behave as a friend behaves toward.

The word "deftly" means nimbly, dexterously, or with great skill; therefore, the word "skillfully" most closely matches the definition of "deftly." "Clumsily" is incorrect because it means with little skill or in an awkward manner, making it an opposite of "deftly." "Maliciously," which means with the intention of causing harm, and "aggressively," which means in a hostile or confrontational manner, are unrelated to the definition of "deftly." 

If people "partake" of something such as cake at a birthday party, it means they consume it or share in it; if they partake in some activity, they participate in it or take part in it; so, "participate" is the correct answer. None of the other answer choices are close in meaning to "partake": "grant" means allow when used as a verb; "convey" means transport when referring to physical objects or people and suggest when referring to ideas; and "transfer" means convey from one location to another or convey from the ownership of one person or group to the ownership of another person or group.

"Abstain" means to go without. For example, one might write, “Having gotten so unhealthy eating nothing but burgers, I have decided to abstain from fast food for the whole year.”

"Exact" is a word that can be used as an adjective or a verb, but because all of the possible answer choices are verbs, we will need to consider "exact" as a verb. As a verb, "exact" means either "demand and obtain (something, especially a payment) from someone" or "inflict (revenge) on someone." So, we need to pick out a verb that means something like "demand and obtain" or "inflict revenge on." So, "donate" cannot be the correct answer, because "donate" is an antonym, not a synonym, of "demand and obtain." "Extract," however, is a verb that means "obtain (something such as money or an admission) from someone in the face of initial unwillingness," and because "extract" is the answer choice closest in meaning to "exact," "extract" is the correct answer.

To "thrive" is to succeed or do extremely well in some aspect of life; it sometimes refers specifically to physical growth. In general, however, "prosper" is the correct synonym, since this verb also describes the act of flourishing and succeeding. To "falter" is to hesitate and to "recede" is to retreat or travel backwards (as in a balding man's "receding hairline"). Finally, to "anticipate" something is to look forward to or become excited about it before it has happened.

"Reimburse" means to return money to a person, usually someone who bought or intended to buy something. "Refund" is the closest word in meaning because it means to give back paid funds to a customer.

The word "satisfy" is related to "satisfaction," and both words come from the Latin meaning enough. To experience "satisfaction" is to be in a state of feeling "full." This does not mean that something is "gorged," as when we eat a lot. Instead, to be satisfied is nothing other than to be fulfilled or completed in a given respect. Indeed, one can experience satisfaction in a variety of ways beyond food—intellectual satisfaction, emotional satisfaction, and so forth.

To "rectify" a situation is to repair it or make it right, generally when some problem has occurred. For example, if you failed to order enough pizza for the class party, you might rectify the situation by going out to get more. Of the answer choices given, "fix" is the only verb with a similar meaning. You may already know that to "compliment" another person is to say something nice about them, and the word structure of "undervalue" helps give away its meaning: to value, or appraise, an item at a lower amount than it is worth. Finally, "abdicate" means give up or renounce, and "perplex" means confuse.

To "adapt" is to "change" as circumstances change. "Advance" is to move forward; "compare" is to look at similarities; and "contrast" is to look at differences.