“Zany” means wacky, abnormal, and crazy. To provide further guidance, "inane" means boring and pointless; "beneficial" means offering benefit, helpful; "deleterious" means causing harm, damaging.

“Genteel” means well-mannered and polite. To provide further guidance, "diminished" means reduced, made smaller; "impossible" means not possible, not able to be done; "forbidden" means not allowed; "recalcitrant" means disobedient, disrespectful.

"Assiduous" means diligent. The best choice is "hard-working," which shares the same meaning as "assiduous." Considering the other choices, "tantamount" means same or equal, "worthy" means respectable, and "narrow-minded" means biased.

The word "zany" means crazy. The best choice is "crazy" because it is a part of the definition of "zany." Considering the other choices, "pathetic" means causing observers to feel sadness and pity, "intelligent" means able to understand and learn things easily, and "easy" means not difficult.

"Wary" means cautious or careful. Therefore, "careful" is the correct synonym. 

“Gruff” means bad-tempered, grumpy. To provide further help, someone who is “good-humored” is in a good mood and funny; “unlikely” means not likely; “pretentious” means self-important; “affected” means acted upon, often in a harful way.

Someone who is “assertive” is very domineering and forceful when it comes to imposing their will. “Degrading” means humiliating, abasing; “cautious” means careful and anxious; “automatic” means done without thought when describing an action and starting by itself when describing a machine.

A "sage" is someone with a high level of wisdom or, in its adjectival form, "sage" means learned. Therefore, the best answer choice is "wise," since it is the direct definition of "sage." In terms of the other answer choices, "candid" means honest, "affable" means kindly, "altruistic" means willing to give generously, and someone who is "innocent" is naive in certain aspects of life.

"Stealthy" means done in a secretive or sneaky way, so "secretive" is the correct answer. None of the other answer choices are close in meaning to "stealthy": "intelligent" means very smart; "comprehensive" means thorough; "academic" means related to education and school; and "dedicated" means devoted and passionate about someone or something.

"Qualified" means certified or capable of doing some task or job, so "capable" is the correct answer. None of the other answer choices are close in meaning to "qualified": "animated" means energetic or lively; "materialistic" means concerned with only material goods; "adverse" means unfavorable or harmful; and "spiteful" means malicious and cruel.