Do not be tempted to thinking “degrade” means the same thing as “downgrade.” Both words contain the “-grade” base, which means step or stage. Likewise, “de-” means down from. This might lead you to think that they both merely mean to force someone "down a step." Nevertheless, “degrading” actions are ones that are contemptuous or disrespectful. They are meant to humiliate those who receive them. For this reason, “humiliating” is the best answer among the others.

The word “concatenation” comes from the prefix “con-”, meaning “with” and a base that is derived from the Latin “catena,” meaning, “chain.” When one “concatenates” things together, he or she is said to “chain them together.” For this reason, a “concatenation” is a “series.” For instance, one can say that “abc” is a concatenation of the letters “a”, “b”, and “c.”

The word “gel” and “gelatin” both are derived from a similar base as “congeal.” They all share the general sense of “freezing” or (more broadly) “hardening” from a liquid state. When something “congeals” it “gels together.” (The “con-” prefix means “with,” as you likely know.) In general it means to “to solidify” or “to coagulate” (like blood that thickens and clots). The word “congeal” can be used to describe a group coming together as well, as in, “The parts of the project congealed into a working whole.”

"Presage" and "augur" both mean to predict or have a feeling. "Embroil" means to involve in a dispute or complicate. "Emerge" means to come out or arise. "Emulate" means to copy the actions of. "Refute" means to prove false or discredit.

"Indolent" originally meant lacking or avoiding pain (IN-negating) + (DOLENT- from a Latin word for pain), but it came more commonly to refer to a desire to avoid any kind of exertion. Make sure you don't confuse it with "insolent" (rude and disrespectful) or "indulgent" (lenient and permissive).

"Ensnare" means to capture or to trap. "Fulfill" means to satisfy or complete a task or goal. "Germinate" means to grow. "Obstruct" means to block or prevent something from getting through. "Baffle" means to confuse.

The word “edict” comes from the prefix “e-” meaning “out or out of” and “-dict,” which means “to say or speak.” The latter is found in many words like “diction,” “dictate,” “dictionary,” and “benediction” (as well as many, many others). “Edict” thus literally means “something spoken out.” The sense of this “out” is that the thing is proclaimed, particularly by one in authority. For this reason, the option “proclamation” is the best option among those provided.

The word “prescribe” distantly comes from the Latin meaning “to write out ahead of time.” (The “scribe” portion of the word comes from the Latin for “to write.”) We often use the word in medical contexts, when a doctor recommends (and authorizes) the usage of a given medicine. It is so used because of its general meaning of “recommend.” Do not confuse this with “proscribe,” which means “to forbid” (generally by law).

The word “infuse” is derived from the obvious prefix “in-”, which here means just that—“in”—and the base “-fuse,” which is derived from the Latin for “to pour.” Someone “infuses” one thing with another when the latter is added to the former. More strictly speaking, the word implies that one thing fills another, as when someone’s thought is said to be “infused with their pains and agonies.” Still, the word can also mean “to add or instill into.” The former is the meaning implied by the options provided in the answers, as “fill” is the only acceptable answer among them.

The root "equ" in "equanimity" means equal, and "anima" is the Latin term for soul or spirit, so it makes sense that “equanimity” means evenness of temper, calm, or "composure." “Immorality” is wickedness, immoral actions, or depravity; “ambiguity” is uncertainty or vagueness of meaning; “assimilation” means the act of absorbing something new, like information or the act of taking on characteristics of a different culture in which one is living; and “sentiment” means feeling.