Verbs and Adjectives or Adverbs in Two-Blank Texts - GRE Verbal

The disinterest of the students is the best clue for assessing this situation. Likely, they are staring back at the professor with empty and disengaged stares. These could be called "indolent," indicating a kind of laziness. It would be better to look for something that more directly indicates the lack of interest. The word "passive" works well in this case, as it helps us to imagine the students staring back without really any external reaction on their faces whatsoever. The professor seems to want them merely to talk about anything whatsoever. That means that she would like them to engage her in a conversation on any topic. To be engaged does not only have to deal with getting married! It can merely mean "to be involved with in some way."

The idea is that Peter has a kind of unspoken bias for drinking dark coffee. He does not even think that he has this bias. A predilection is a kind of inclination or preference for something. It actually comes from roots meaning to choose before. The "-dilection" portion of the word is related to the word "election" in English, as well as to "delight." Both of these words have to deal with choosing or selecting something. Peter's predilection evidenced itself in his rarely choosing to have coffee that was not very dark. To "opt" for something is to choose that thing. (Clearly, this is related to "option", which indicates a thing that is—or at least can be—chosen.)

The words in the blanks must have dissimilar meanings since the two phrases are separated by the word “but.” “Enervated” means drained of energy, so it is dissimilar to “urgent” and, unlike “distracted,” it is a state that is likely to be caused by a monotonous voice.

“Corroborate” means provide support for, and “craven” means cowardly. This is the only answer choice in which both words work together.

Our hint for the second blank is "divisions", so we're looking for words that match that. "Polarize" is our best choice, which means "to divide into two groups." But we still have to check the other word—"exigent" means "pressing," so it works as well.

The first word must be an adjective that describes something that you should not believe, and "tawdry" does just that because it means of little value or gaudy. The second word needs to be a verb that describes what tabloids do to sell print copies. "Manufactured" is the best choice here because it means to make up or invent in this context. None of the other answer choices make sense in the context of the sentence.

In this sentence, the first word must be an adjective that describes how a dictator would expect his subjects to be, and the second word must be a verb that refers to what a dictator would do to this opposition. "Obsequious" means submissive and servile, and "thwart" means to prevent or intervene against, so this is the word pair that best completes the sentence.

While "vacillate" and "oscillate" can both mean to waver, "vacillate . . . inherently" is correct because the second answer choice, “inherently,” makes more sense than “tacitly.” A quality that is "inherent" is one that is permanent and essential to something, in this case, to humankind. "Tacit" means that something is implied without being openly acknowledged.

To "conclude" means to end; the second part of the sentence after the semi-colon makes it clear the scientists are ending their work, and should not continue, as they already have clear results. "Futile" in this case means counterproductive or pointless; "sensible" is its opposite.

The doctoral student has published successfully, so she must be intelligent or insightful enough to do this, the definition of "perspicacious." "Substantiate," meaning to provide evidence, is the only answer that makes sense in the second sentence.

The smell of the cheese is different from the "perfume of various oils and herbs." This means it is pungent or sharp, the definition of "acrid." It is being hidden or covered, the definition of "obscured," by the herbs and oils.

The subject's "approach to relationships" affects how he sees others. The "cynical" approach, or looking for the worst in others, would "preclude," or prevent, the subject from "seeing the good in people."

The girl's story "moved many to give," and this points to both answers, as the story is strong enought to get funds for the organization. "Poignant," meaning deeply moving, and "solicit," meaning to ask or seek out, combine for the correct answer.

The word "although" gives a clue to what the sentence is about—it's a reversal—so the two blanks should be opposites. "Amicable" and "reprimanded" fit best: if the director is normally friendly, it is suprising that he/she delivers a reprimand—a rebuke—to the actor.

For the first choice, "genial," makes more sense than "humane" in dealing tactfully with a person you are trying to avoid trouble with. For the second choice, "fulminate," means to explode angrily.

Amalgamate—to mix or merge as to make a combination.

Amenable—agreeable.

The group leader wanted to combine the individual contributions so that all of the group members were happy with the outcome.

For the first blank, we're looking for a word with a positive connotation, since the plumber did a good job in quickly stopping the leak. Knowing this, we can eliminate the answer choices that begin with "indifferent," "hapless," and "officious," all words with neutral or negative meanings, leaving us with "laudable" and "commendable," two words with positive connotations. For the second blank, we're looking for a word that means stopping or blocking. Since "exacerbating" means making worse and "occluding" means obstructing an opening, the correct answer is "laudable . . . occluding."

For the first blank, we need a word that can describe a smell—specifically, a stink. "Fetid" and "noisome" might each work in the first blank, as each word can mean smelling terrible, so we are left with "rue" and "expiate" for the second. Since "rue" means regret greatly and "expiate" means atone or make amends for, the correct answer is "fetid . . . rue."

For the first blank, we need an adjective that describes the duchess's overdressed companions. Possible choices include "salacious" (overtly sexual) "gauche," (awkwardly unsophisticated) and "florid" (complicated, perhaps excessively). For the second blank, we need a word that means decorated gaudily, and "bedizened" means exactly that. So, the correct answer is "florid . . . bedizened."