Sentence Completion

Question 1

1. She hadn’t eaten all day, and by the time she got home she was
   ______.
   a. blighted
   b. confutative
   c. ravenous
   d. ostentatious
   e. blissful

Answer 1

1. c. Ravenous (adj.) means extremely hungry.

Question 2

2. The movie offended many of the parents of its younger viewers by
   including unnecessary ______ in the dialogue.
   a. vulgarity
   b. verbosity
   c. vocalizations
   d. garishness
   e. tonality

Answer 2

2. a. Vulgarity (n.) means offensive speech or conduct

Question 3

3. His neighbors found his ______ manner bossy and irritating, and
   they stopped inviting him to backyard barbeques.
   a. insentient
   b. magisterial
   c. reparatory
   d. restorative
   e. modest

Answer 3

3. b. Magisterial (adj.) means overbearing or offensively self-assured.

Question 4

4. Steven is always ______ about showing up for work because he
   feels that tardiness is a sign of irresponsibility.
   a. legible
   b. tolerable
   c. punctual
   d. literal
   e. belligerent

Answer 4

4. c. Punctual (adj.) means arriving exactly on time

Question 5

5. Candace would ______ her little sister into an argument by teasing
   her and calling her names.
   a. advocate
   b. provoke
   c. perforate
   d. lamente
   e. expunge

Answer 5

5. b. To provoke (v.) is to incite anger or resentment; to call forth a
   feeling or action.

Question 6

6. The dress Ariel wore ______ with small, glassy beads, creating a
   shimmering effect.
   a. titillated
   b. reiterated
   c. scintillated
   d. enthralled
   e. striated

Answer 6

6. c. To scintillate (v.) means to emit or send forth sparks or little
   flashes of light, creating a shimmering effect; to sparkle.

Question 7

7. Being able to afford this luxury car will ______ getting a betterpaying job.
   a. maximize
   b. recombinant
   c. reiterate
   d. necessitate
   e. reciprocate

Answer 7

7. d. To necessitate (v.) means to make necessary, especially as a result.

Question 8

8. Levina unknowingly ______ the thief by holding open the elevator
   doors and ensuring his escape.
   a. coerced
   b. proclaimed
   c. abetted
   d. sanctioned
   e. solicited

Answer 8

8. c. To abet (v.) means to assist, encourage, urge, or aid, usually an
   act of wrongdoing.

Question 9

9. Shakespeare, a(n) ______ writer, entertained audiences by writing
   many tragic and comic plays.
   a. numeric
   b. obstinate
   c. dutiful
   d. prolific
   e. generic

Answer 9

9. d. Prolific (adj.) means abundantly creative.

Question 10

10. I had the ______ experience of sitting next to an over-talkative
    passenger on my flight home from Brussels.
    a. satisfactory
    b. commendable
    c. galling
    d. acceptable
    e. acute

Answer 10

10. c. Galling (adj.) means irritating, annoying, or exasperating.

Question 11

11. Prince Phillip had to choose: marry the woman he loved and ______
    his right to the throne, or marry Lady Fiona and inherit the crown.
    a. reprimand
    b. upbraid
    c. abdicate
    d. winnow
    e. extol

Answer 11

11. c. To abdicate (v.) means to formally relinquish or surrender power,
    office, or responsibility.

Question 12

12. If you will not do your work of your own ______, I have no choice
    but to penalize you if it is not done on time.
    a. predilection
    b. coercion
    c. excursion
    d. volition
    e. infusion

Answer 12

12. d. Volition (n.) means accord; an act or exercise of will.

Question 13

13. After sitting in the sink for several days, the dirty, food-encrusted
    dishes became ______.
    a. malodorous
    b. prevalent
    c. imposing
    d. perforated
    e. emphatic

Answer 13

13. a. Malodorous (adj.) means having a foul-smelling odor.

Question 14

14. Giulia soon discovered the source of the ______ smell in the room:
    a week-old tuna sandwich that one of the children had hidden in
    the closet.
    a. quaint
    b. fastidious
    c. clandestine
    d. laconic
    e. fetid

Answer 14

14. e. Fetid (adj.) means having a foul or offensive odor, putrid.

Question 15

15. After making ______ remarks to the President, the reporter was
    not invited to return to the White House pressroom.
    a. hospitable
    b. itinerant
    c. enterprising
    d. chivalrous
    e. irreverent

Answer 15

15. e. Irreverent (adj.) means lacking respect or seriousness; not
    reverent.

Question 16

16. With her ______ eyesight, Krystyna spotted a trio of deer on the
    hillside and she reduced the speed of her car.
    a. inferior
    b. keen
    c. impressionable
    d. ductile
    e. conspiratorial

Answer 16

16. b. Keen (adj.) means being extremely sensitive or responsive;
    having strength of perception.

Question 17

17. With a(n) ______ grin, the boy quickly slipped the candy into his
    pocket without his mother’s knowledge.
    a. jaundiced
    b. nefarious
    c. stereotypical
    d. sentimental
    e. impartial

Answer 17

17. b. Nefarious (adj.) means wicked, vicious, or evil.

Question 18

18. Her ______ display of tears at work did not impress her new boss,
    who felt she should try to control her emotions.
    a. maudlin
    b. meritorious
    c. precarious
    d. plausible
    e. schematic

Answer 18

18. a. Maudlin (adj.) means excessively and weakly sentimental or
    tearfully emotional.

Question 19

19. Johan argued, “If you know about a crime but don’t report it, you
    are ______ in that crime because you allowed it to happen.”
    a. acquitted
    b. steadfast
    c. tenuous
    d. complicit
    e. nullified

Answer 19

19. d. Complicit (adj.) means participating in or associated with a
    questionable act or a crime.

Question 20

20. The authorities, fearing a ______ of their power, called for a
    military state in the hopes of restoring order.
    a. subversion
    b. premonition
    c. predilection
    d. infusion
    e. inversion

Answer 20

20. a. Subversion (n.) means an overthrow, as from the foundation.

Question 21

21. The story’s bitter antagonist felt such great ______ for all of the other
    characters that as a result, his life was very lonely and he died alone.
    a. insurgence
    b. malevolence
    c. reciprocation
    d. declamation
    e. preference

Answer 21

21. b. Malevolence (n.) means ill will or malice toward others; hate.

Question 22

22. It is difficult to believe that charging 20% on an outstanding credit
    card balance isn’t ______!
    a. bankruptcy
    b. usury
    c. novice
    d. kleptomania
    e. flagrancy

Answer 22

22. b. Usury (n.) is the lending of money at exorbitant interest rates.

Question 23

23. The ______ weather patterns of the tropical island meant tourists
    had to carry both umbrellas and sunglasses.
    a. impertinent
    b. supplicant
    c. preeminent
    d. illustrative
    e. kaleidoscopic

Answer 23

23. e. Kaleidoscopic (adj.) means continually changing or quickly

Question 24

24. Wedding ceremonies often include the exchange of ______ rings
    to symbolize the couple’s promises to each other.
    a. hirsute
    b. acrimonious
    c. plaintive
    d. deciduous
    e. votive

Answer 24

24. e. Votive (adj.) means dedicated by a vow.

Question 25

25. Kym was ______ in choosing her friends, so her parties were
    attended by vastly different and sometimes bizarre personalities.
    a. indispensable
    b. indiscriminate
    c. commensurate
    d. propulsive
    e. indisputable

Answer 25

25. b. Indiscriminate (adj.) means not discriminating or choosing
    randomly; haphazard; without distinction.

Question 26

26. Phillip’s ______ tone endeared him to his comical friends, but
    irritated his serious father.
    a. aloof
    b. jesting
    c. grave
    d. earnest
    e. conservative

Answer 26

26. b. Jesting (adj.) means characterized by making jests; joking;
    playful

Question 27

27. Brian’s pale Irish skin was ______ to burn if he spent too much
    time in the sun.
    a. prone
    b. urbane
    c. eminent
    d. erect
    e. daunted

Answer 27

27. a. Prone (adj.) means a tendency or inclination to something.

Question 28

28. A fan of historical fiction, Joline is now reading a novel about
    slavery in the ______ South.
    a. decorous
    b. rogue
    c. droll
    d. antebellum
    e. onerous

Answer 28

28. d. Antebellum (adj.) means belonging to the period before a war,
    especially the American Civil War.

Question 29

29. Over the years the Wilsons slowly ______ upon the Jacksons’
    property, moving the stone markers that divided their lots farther
    and farther onto the Jacksons’ land.
    a. encroached
    b. jettisoned
    c. conjoined
    d. repudiated
    e. teemed

Answer 29

29. a. To encroach (v.) means to gradually or stealthily take the rights
    or possessions of another; to advance beyond proper or formal
    limits; trespass

Question 30

30. Mary became ______ at typing because she practiced every day for
    six months.
    a. proficient
    b. reflective
    c. dormant
    d. redundant
    e. valiant

Answer 30

30. a. Proficient (adj.) means well-versed in any business or branch of
    learning; adept.