The key word is “vague,” for the necessary word will be opposed to that. The teacher wishes the student to give a “non-vague” answer. To this end, “unambiguous” is the best choice, for this word means “not having more than one interpretation.” When something is “ambiguous,” it is not clear exactly what is implied by that thing. The word literally comes from Latin roots meaning “driving both directions or in both ways.” The “ambi-” prefix means “both” and is found in the English “ambidextrous,” which means that one can use both hands.

Since Jerome’s appearance was stern, it is best to call it “austere.” The word distantly comes from Greek roots meaning “severe.” When one experiences “austerities,” he or she experiences “severe” conditions in the sense of having little means with which to support himself or herself. The word “austere” often has this sense as well, being used to indicate that something is very plain.

The sentence calls for a word that describes a droning voice and means lacking emotion. “Monotonous” is correct because it means without intonation. “Dramatic,” “searing,” and “satiric” are all much more exciting qualities of voice, and “atoned” is the past tense of a verb meaning to make amends.

From the context of the sentence you know that the blank term must relate to how isolationist America was and how little concerned America was with foreign events. Histrionic means overdramatic; emboldened means given courage; courageous means brave; moderate means reasonable or middling. Only insular neatly refers to the isolationist character of American society. Insular means a limited and localized perspective.

From the context of the sentence you know that the blank describes some aspect of Mr. Powell that relates to him being constantly rude and disrespectful. Boorish means ill-mannered or insensitive, and is the correct answer. Miserable means very sad; competent means capable; indulgent means tolerant or allowing people to do what they want; speculative refers to guessing.

You know that the nature of Ivan the Terrible ensured that anyone who tried to subvert his authority met with severe punishment. Magnanimous and inspired are both positive in meaning and would alter the meaning of the sentence. That leaves boorish, miserly and vindictive. Boorish means ill-mannered; miserly means not generous; vindictive means focused on revenge. The sentence mentions that those who try to subvert Ivan the Terrible were singled out for revenge. Therefore of the three possible correct answers vindictive is the best possible fit. Always look for the best fit, not simply a possible fit!

The context of the sentence describes a man that disregards the feelings of others and refuses to give to charity. This should inform you that you are looking for a negative meaning for the missing word. Amiable, gregarious and affable all refer to friendliness, and can comfortably be ruled out. Therapeutic references something that provides for health or well-being, and can also be eliminated. Only callous, which means cruel and hardhearted,could acceptably describe the miserly man.

From the context of the sentence you know that whichever aspect of Achilles is being described relates to the difficulty encountered when trying to restrain him. Nonchalant means not caring; ineffectual means not effective; equivocal means ambiguous or hard to understand; magnanimous means noble-spirited. Of these four options only magnanimous could possible match; however there is a better match. Irrepressible means not able to be controlled and directly references the difficulty one would encounter trying to restrain Achilles.

Because we know that Carly thought "[the poem's] treatment of its subject was far too simplistic" and "none of its other features caught her interest," we can infer that she thought the poem to be dull. So, we need to pick out a word that means something like "too simple" or "dull." We can rule out "exciting" as a potential answer because "exciting" is an antonym of the word that we're looking for. "Jejune," however, is an adjective that means "naive, simplistic, and superficial" or when used of ideas or writings, "dry and uninteresting." Because "jejune" is the answer choice that best fits the sentence's context, it is the correct answer.

We can infer from the sentence that we need to pick out a word that means something like "stubborn," because "some people assume that the breed has a[n] . . . intractable personality," and "intractable" is a synonym of "stubborn." So, "meek" cannot be the correct answer because "meek" is an antonym of "stubborn," not a synonym. "Obdurate," however, is an adjective that means "stubbornly refusing to change one's opinion or course of action," and because "obdurate" is the answer choice which best fits the context of the sentence, it is the correct answer.