Since "mitigate" is a verb that means "make less severe, serious, or painful," we need to pick out a verb that means something like "assuage." While "exacerbate" might look like a good answer choice, "exacerbate" actually means "make a problem, bad situation, or negative feeling worse," so it is an antonym of "mitigate" and not the word we're looking for. "Alleviate," which means "make suffering, deficiency, or a problem less severe," is the answer choice closest in meaning to "mitigate," so it is the correct answer.

An example of "atrophy" is when muscles atrophy there is a decrease in muscle mass.  Thus, the best definition of atrophy is wasting away or shrinking.

If something is blighted, it means it is destroyed or ruined.  For instance, crops can be blighted due to weather conditions.

"Cavort" is a verb that means "jump or dance around excitedly," or, informally, "apply oneself enthusiastically to sexual or disreputable pursuits." So, while we need to pick out an answer choice that has to do with movement, "amble" cannot be the correct answer because "amble" means "walk or move at a slow, relaxed pace," where "cavort" describes excited movement. "Caper," a word that when used as a verb means "skip or dance about in a lively or playful way," is the correct answer because it is the answer choice closest in meaning to "cavort."

The word “hinder” can mean “behind” or “rear portion.” However, here it is being used in its more general sense of “to prevent something from acting fully.” A “hindrance” is like a “block” in the way of something’s activity. When one thing acts to “impede” another, it obstructs that thing’s action. The word “impede” literally means “to put something on the foot of (something else).” The “-pede” portion of the word is related to the English “pedal” and “biped.”

Sometimes, you might hear an expression like, “Don’t ruffle his feathers; he gets very angry easily.” The word “ruffle” literally means to cause disorder in some manner, often applying to hair or perhaps a bird’s feathers when they stand up for mating or as a sign of aggression. It can be used in the general sense, implying merely that something or someone is causing disorder something else.  Among the options provided, this is the sense to be chosen.

Sometimes, you might hear an expression like, “Don’t ruffle his feathers; he gets very angry easily.” The word “ruffle” literally means to cause disorder in some manner, often applying to hair or perhaps a bird’s feathers when they stand up for mating or as a sign of aggression. It can be used in the general sense, implying merely that something or someone is causing disorder something else.  Among the options provided, this is the sense to be chosen.

“Scavenging” animals are those that live on the dead bodies of other animals. More generally, “scavengers” are those animals and people that search for whatever they need by looking in the waste and garbage of others. When someone “rummages,” he or she searches in a manner that is rather disorganized, often paying little head to the mess they make when performing his or her search. When someone scavenges, this is likely to be the manner of searching. For this reason, “rummage” is often used as a synonym of scavenge.

The word “staunch” has two meanings. On the one hand, it can mean “faithful” as in, “He was a staunch supporter to the cause, regularly donating time and money.” The word is derived from a base that means “watertight” or “dried up.” In English, it has thus come to mean “to stop the flow of blood” as in, “He staunched the wound with thick bandages.” When used figuratively, it can mean the more general “to stop the flow.” For this reason, “restrain” is the best option among those provided.

The best answer choice is scatter since disseminate means to spread or disperse such as in the case of disseminating information.