A “trite” remark is one that has been repeated so often that it has lost its meaning. This is implied by “repeated until they have no substance.”

The key expressions to note here are “brazenly narcissistic” and the fact that the boyfriend does not seem to have moral considerations in any manner. (This latter point helps to give context to his narcissism. Although several other options (distasteful, disruptive) are vaguely related to the sense, “sociopathic” is by far the best. Someone who has a “pathology” is said to have a social or mental issue of some type. The root “path-” is derived from Greek roots related to the emotions or “suffering” (like having an emotion come over you). It is reflected in words like passion, pathetic, etc. If one is a socio+path, they are antisocial precisely because they cannot function morally in society.

The central phrase for our blank is “directly connected.” The word “contiguously” means sharing a common border and comes from the Latin root “tangere” (to touch), which has a number of related words, such as “tactile” and “tangent.” The prefix “con-” means with. Hence, the touching in question is a “touching with (something else).”

Here, our word is in itself very rare and rather esoteric (only understood by a limited group of people—here, lawyers); however, the clear sense of the sentence can help us to piece together the necessary word. Clearly, George wants to allow his brother to receive profits from use of the land. The word “usufruct” is the right of using a piece of land that is someone else’s and also the right to its fruits (=fruct) but without destroying the land (e.g. by overusing it). “Usufructuary” is merely the adverbial form of this word.

There are a number of tempting answers to this sentence, but none of them captures most closely the fact that Megan has no children. We know none of the other possible details.  (The sentences do not indicate whether or not she is married or virginal. Her grandmother is perplexed that she has no children. Never go beyond the details given to you). To be “nulliparous” is to be a female who has not yet given birth to a child. The word does contain its meaning: nulli+parous. Think of “nullity” or even “null” or “nil”—all indicating nothing.  The second part, “-parous” is derived from the Latin to bear children, and you can easily see how it is related to “parent” (and a number of related words).

The key here is to note that the groups had been meeting separately, though once a year would come together. Although the other words might fit, the best sense will be the one that captures this sense of coming together most closely. To be “plenary” is to be a meeting including all of the groups at a given event. It means something like full session, a meaning that could be guessed from the root “plen-,” which means full. Related words are “plenty” and “plenitude.” 

All that we can tell about Nestor is that he will sample any religion whatsoever. Let us not, therefore, go so far as to imply that he has no religion. The sense is best captured by “latitudinarian,” which means merely to show no preference (generally in religion). It is related to words like “latitude,” implying breadth or freedom for expression.

The key here to note is the contrariety implied in the “while . . .” subordinate clause. If it is often abstract, the spirit of a civilization is at least concrete in the laws. To be concrete could be said to be “like something” in the sense of some thing. The word “res” in Latin means thing and is related to “real” and “republic,” which means the public things. The “-fy” is a standard ending meaning to do or to make, and is likewise found in forms like “-fact-” (factor), “-fic-” (artificer), -“-fect” (perfect), or even “-fication” (amplification).   

Although John might likewise be called an excellent friend, he certainly was unwavering (at least from the description). The word “stalwart” implies this loyalty.

The key words to note are “quantifiable” and, more importantly, “regular measurement.” The word “metrical” means related to measurement and is used in many words such as “symmetric” (one thing measuring directly with—sym—another) and “econometrics” (the study of economics by statistics and other mathematical / empirical methods).