DRILL 4

Question 1

As the valedictorian of his graduating class, Thomas was tasked with delivering a(n) _______ speech, dutifully rehearsing in front of both his mirror and the cat.

    languid

    extended

    eloquent

    listless

    articulate

    enduring

Question 2

Worried that he had lost the support of his party, the Prime Minister forcefully _______ his controversial statement that healthcare would not be a priority.

    recanted

    affirmed

    validated

    overlooked

    disavowed

    ignored

Question 3

With recent advances in technology allowing for convenient online access to reading material, many forecasters expect to see hardcover book sales _______.

    multiply

    abate

    prevail

    assimilate

    dwindle

    appreciate

Question 4

Pulled over for speeding and nervous about receiving an unpleasant lecture, Natalie’s fears were easily relieved by the _______ policeman.

    exacting

    affable

    atypical

    stringent

    sober

    genial

Question 5

Even among statisticians, who fully understand that true randomness includes repetition, there is often a misguided attempt to _______ one’s chances of winning the lottery by declining to select numbers that have recently appeared on winning tickets.

    augment

    escalate

    divulge

    mitigate

    squander

    curtail

Question 6

“Out of sight, out of mind” is a useful _______ for those who cannot develop a logical argument to defense their failure to be concerned about poverty in foreign nations.

    fallacy

    allusion

    maxim

    query

    waiver

    proverb

Question 7

Although it initially seemed that the ideological gap between them was insurmountable—he believed in _______ while she believed in accumulating wealth, he in sensitivity towards others while she in self-interest—the marriage ultimately lasted 52 years until his death.

    largess

    avarice

    empathy

    parsimony

    cupidity

    philanthropy

Question 8

Those who criticized Coco Chanel’s later clothing designs misjudged as _______ the style that generations of women to come would regard as the epitome of high fashion.

    defamatory

    prohibitive

    contrite

    mundane

    insipid

    exorbitant

Question 9

Since receiving a promotion to departmental chair, Brookstone has been even more prone to _______ against the university’s administration, and consequently has lost several professional allies.

    approbations

    tirades

    diatribes

    precursors

    commendations

    canons

Question 10

Sergei’s belief in astrology, a pseudoscience whose practitioners provide results than can never be conclusively proven or falsified, left him vulnerable to _______.

    censure

    chicanery

    vindication

    authentication

    wile

    vexation

Question 11

The _______ international aid agencies have toward selecting a fresh cause to champion approximately every five years is indicative of their desire to avoid apathy due to overexposure and, instead, continue to stimulate donor interest.

    ambivalence

    predilection

    affectation

    propensity

    wariness

    callousness

Question 12

Discussions about the use of high-fructose corn syrup as a sweetener lead to _______ among nutritionists, and the use of aspartame, which is also common, is just as controversial.

    discord

    concurrence

    gratification

    dissension

    veracity

    convergence

Question 13

Further recognition of the destructive effects of targeting fast food advertising at young children may lead to more efforts to _______ such tactics: there is already clear evidence that the necessary prohibitive regulations have widespread support.

    rally

    check

    embellish

    curb

    pirate

    muster

Question 14

Even though the judge personally found the law _______, his moral objection did not provide a legal basis on which to rule the law unconstitutional.

    anodyne

    abhorrent

    propitious

    permissible

    invidious

    salubrious

Question 15

Completely impenetrable to the layperson, the ancient text was _______ even to experts in the field.

    abstruse

    unequivocal

    opaque

    lucid

    incontrovertible

    obtuse

Question 16

The feudalism practiced by Carolingian rulers was still in its _______ stage; only later did features such as subinfeudation and the consequent necessity of designating a liege lord lead to the fully-developed system familiar to students of the High Middle Ages.

    refractory

    byzantine

    nascent

    labyrinthine

    inchoate

    perfidious

Question 17

A key element of The Smiths’ recognizable sound came from the tension between Morrissey’s _______ lyrics and the cheerful, almost bouncy music composed by Johnny Marr.

    lubricious

    euphoric

    sanguine

    saturnine

    recondite

    lachrymose

Question 18

The bride was mortified to learn that her dress—which had appeared delicate, even _______, in the artificial light of the boutique—was nearly transparent in the bright sunlight of her outdoor wedding.

    ephemeral

    diaphanous

    ponderous

    mettlesome

    cumbersome

    gossamer

Question 19

The public’s fascination with celebrities coupled with the innovations of the electronic age may inspire a new cadre of amateur “paparazzi”: there are certainly indications that such a trend is _______.

    looming

    attenuating

    calumniating

    deliquescing

    flagging

    impending

Question 20

The doctor’s real mistake, from the perspective of his _______ professional friends who quickly jilted him, was not that his choice of treatment was inappropriate, but rather that it was viscerally objectionable to the medical establishment.

    squeamish

    fickle

    staunch

    inconstant

    orthodox

    stodgy