Mark’s activity is meant to be in support of other human beings. Such a person could be a philanthropist, or one who is a “lover of men.” The word is derived from two Greek roots. The first half, “phil-,” is derived from the Greek word for “love of friendship” or merely “friendship.” The city “Philadelphia” is named from Greek “brotherly love.” (The “brotherly” portion comes from adelphos, for brother.)  The second half is derived from anthropos, which means human person, and has related English derivatives in words like “anthropology” or “misanthrope.”

Since the two personalities are opposed, it is necessary to think of an opposite for Laura’s troublesome drama. While this might be annoying to her husband, the key is to choose the word most opposed to this dramatic persona. That would be “aloof,” not any of the others.

Someone who is “saccharine” is excessively sentimental or sweet. It comes from the Latin word for sugar, and in modern times the manufactured substance called “saccharin” has been used as a substitute for sugar.

The sentence’s focus on “matters of the house and home” gives the key to finding the correct term.  The word “domestic” means “relating to the house.”  It is derived from the Latin “domus,” which means “house” and has related words such as “domicile” and “domesticate.”   The term is often used in discussing the affairs of a country, where matters within the borders of the country are referred to as “domestic” as opposed to those that are foreign.

The implied opposition in this sentence is made between the word to be chosen as an answer and the notion of objective facts, grounded outside of Leslie’s own biases and interests. Something is said to be “subjective” when it is related only to a given person’s perspective (wants, desires, or merely his or her knowledge and frame of reference).

When someone is “diffident,” he or she is shy or modest because of a deficiency in self-confidence. Since the sentence indicates that Eva was both confident and ready to speak of her abilities, we can say that she truly would not be known for diffidence. The word comes from root words in Latin literally means “to lack faith in one’s self.” The “-fident” portion of the word is the “faith” or “trust” portion, related to words like “confident,” “fidelity,” and “infidel.”

The key word to note is “expatiated,” to which the needed word will be opposed. When one “expatiates,” he or she discusses something in great detail (implying that it is done for quite some length of time or space). The word “succinctly,” meaning “expressed in a brief manner,” provides the best contrast to this word. It is derived from root words related to the notion of “encircling” such as “cincture.”

The answer to this question needs to be contrasted to “understated examples.” When something is “understated,” it is expressed either in a manner that presents it as less important than it is or perhaps in a way that is somewhat subtle and measured. In contrast to understatement, “hyperbole” is the overstatement of some topic. The “hyper-” portion means “over,” as is found in a word like “hyperactive.” The “-bolic” or “-bole” portion of the word comes from the Greek “to throw,” a word reflected in the words “ball” as well as “ballistics.” In a certain literal sense, “hyperbole” is a case of “throwing” a meaning “overtop” its appropriate scope or usage.

The key phrase in this sentence is “not merely difficult to catch,” as this indicates that the snipe must have been described as being difficult to capture. Something of this type is known as being “elusive,” a word derived from Latin roots literally meaning “to play away from,” though it takes more nuanced forms in English. It is related to words like “elude,” “illusion”, and even “prelude.”

Probably the most tempting wrong answer for this question is “repetitive,” for Nick’s comments are “well-worn;” however, since they are also “superficial,” the word “inane” does the best job at capturing both descriptions. Although it means “stupid” or “silly,” these meanings should not be stressed to harshly. Often, one speaks of “inane questions,” implying that they are ridiculously unnecessary and obvious. This sense matches well Nick’s comments.