“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.

"Sinister" is an adjective meaning threatening and bad, so the answer choice closest in meaning to "sinister" is "evil," an adjective meaning harmful and wrong. Considering the other answer choices, none are close in meaning to "sinister": "innocent" is an adjective that means not having done anything wrong; "guilty" means culpable or having committed an offense or a crime, especially in the context of court and the law; and "hurt" means offended or physically injured.

"Estimable" means admirable.

"Pragmatic" refers to a person who is practical, or in other words, someone who is able to reason through problems in a logical way. You likely have at least one friend who is pragmatic; he or she would be the problem-solver of the group. "Sensible" also implies reasonable judgment and is our answer choice. As you might know, "elderly" means old and "foolish" means silly or impractical. "Stagnant" refers to anything that is standing still instead of moving forward; it is often used to describe the standing water present in swamps, but can also describe other situations in which there is a lack of progress.

“Languid” means relaxed or lazy. To provide further help, “sturdy” means strong and reliable; “fortuitous” means owed to good luck; “portly” and “corpulent” both mean fat. 

The word "just" must be used in the sense that means "appropriate" or "fair" (as in "justice.") The way to tell this is by first looking at your options. The only alternative meaning might be "nearly"—as in, "I just arrived at the class." However, the only answer that is in the range of meanings applicable to that use is "delayed," and that word is not a suitable synonym. The only synonym is "equitable," which means fair or just. You can think of it is meaning something like treating equally.