"Preserve" means to save or to keep safe. To further help you, "evade" means to get out of the way of; "escalate" means make worse or make more severe; "portray" means show.

The verb "ail" means hurt. The best choice is "hurt," as it a part of the definition of "ail." Considering the other choices, "pale" means having light or muted colors, "fix" means repair, and a "pail" is a bucket.

If you "require" something, then you need it, so "need" is the correct answer. To help you, the other four answer choices are all synonyms of one another; "abhor," "detest," and "despise" are all verbs that mean extremely dislike.

"Manipulate" means control something or someone to serve one’s purpose. "Influence" is the best choice, because "influence" means change or affect someone or something when used as a verb.

The word "deteriorate" describes something that is becoming worse. For instance, we might say, "Her health was deteriorating for some time before she died," meaning that her health was getting worse before she died. Several of the options are trying to confuse you into thinking that "deteriorate" is the same as "determine." (These are "learn" and "discover".) The obvious correct answer is "worsen."

Your synonym must match the intensity of your word if it can. When we "exterminate" something, we completely destroy it. This word might have been used by your parents if your house has ever had a lot of ants (or other bugs) in it. An "exterminator" is someone who completely kills the bugs in the house—or at least tries to! The word does not mean to poison. It means to destroy completely. Thus, the best option is "eradicate", which means to destroy completely.

The word "deplete" is not the same as "delete." They are somewhat alike, but they are not the same. When something is "depleted," it is emptied out. For example, we could say, "The group depleted the stores of food," meaning that they used them up. The word "consume" does not merely mean to eat. It can also mean to use up. Therefore, it is quite a good option for this question!

When we mock someone, we make fun of that person. We make that person an object of laughter and (sometimes) scorn. When we "ridicule" someone, we do the same thing. The word "ridicule" is related to words like "deride" and "ridiculous." These words come from Latin roots meaning to laugh. When something is ridiculous, it is amusing. When we mock someone, we could be said to make him or her appear to be ridiculous.

It is important to make sure that your synonym is not too strong of a word. When we "irritate" someone, we do not make that person very angry. We are not looking to make him or her "enraged" or "infuriated." We are merely bothering that person, making him or her "a little angry." We are annoying that person. Now, "anger" is actually a decent synonym, but "annoy" is better and therefore is the answer for this question.

For this word, you must pay attention to the intensity involved in the meaning of "clutch." When we "clutch" on to something, we hold it tightly and firmly. Thus, options like "retain" and "hold" are far too weak to describe the action of clutching. The best option is "grip," which also means to hold onto tightly.