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Test your basic knowledge |
Complete Advanced Sentences
Start Test
Study First
Subjects
:
english
,
grammar
Instructions:
Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
If you are not ready to take this test, you can
study here
.
Match each statement with the correct term.
Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.
This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. Because Sal once had fallen asleep while reading War and Peace - he thought that all Russian novels were _____.
interpid
soporific
lavish
usurp
2. Though his fellow students considered him a gifted scholar - Paul knew he would have to spend many years in serious study before he could consider himself truly _____.
explicit
erudite
decorum
presumptuous
3. Because she was a firm believer in old-fashioned courtesy - Miss Post _____ the modern tendency to address new acquaintances by their first names.
conciliatory
renounce
strident
deprecate
4. At commencement - the dean praised Ellen for her _____ behavior as class president.
divergent
exemplary
delineate
esoteric
5. Though Glenn was devout - he was no _____; he never tried to force his beliefs on friends.
dogmatic
zealot
brevity
austere
6. The boss prefaced his speech by telling a pointless _____ about an encounter he'd had with former President Bush.
malicious
divergent
disdain
anecdote
7. After the quarrel - Gina said nothing could _____ her to talk to Pedro again.
eulogy
adversity
induce
innate
8. Their _____ in rank made no difference at all to the prince and Cinderella.
proliferation
disparity
astute
extricate
9. Don't bore your audience with excess verbiage; be _____.
guile
substantiate
succinct
refute
10. Rejecting the candidate's _____ comments on tax reform - the reporter pressed him to state clearly where he stood on the issue.
peripheral
incorrigible
equivocal
disseminate
11. Bobby was such a _____ eater that he would eat a sandwich only if his mother first cut off every scrap of crust.
fastidious
extol
adulation
skeptic
12. After separating from Tony - Tina announced that she would _____ all debts incurred by her soon-to-be-ex-husband.
venerate
compliance
repudiate
rancor
13. Towering over the nearby houses - the MacMansion looked wholly _____ in the historic neighborhood of small Craftsman bungalows.
incongruous
ephemeral
ascetic
profound
14. Acetone is an extremely _____ liquid: it vaporizes instantly.
abridge
levity
volatile
disdain
15. With its worn-out dialogue and predictable plot - the sitcom struck me as unbearably _____.
disdain
incite
adversity
banal
16. Every time Ermengarde made a mistake in class - she was terrified that she would receive a harsh _____ from Miss Minchin.
reprimand
vacillate
preclude
guile
17. Government agents have been known to use wiretapping and other _____ methods to spy on suspected terrorists.
surreptitious
rebuttal
impair
ascetic
18. Stories in The New York Times often include _____ allusions to obscure people and events.
esoteric
deprecate
allusion
ostentatious
19. 'Judicial activism' is the alleged tendency of some judges to _____ the power of elected legislatures by making the law rather than merely interpreting it.
adulation
usurp
divergent
rebuttal
20. Unlike Widow Douglas - who _____ Huck's minor offenses - Miss Watson did nothing but scold.
satirical
condone
resolution
indifferent
21. Because Webster's dictionary had grown so large and unwieldy - the publishers decided to _____ it and bring out a condensed version.
abridge
belie
placate
guile
22. Tina was still angry despite Tony's soft and _____ words.
erudite
conciliatory
predilection
detachment
23. The fact that the band was already booked to play in Hollywood on New year's Eve _____ their accepting the gig in London.
gregarious
preclude
superfluous
embellish
24. Please try not to include so many _____ details in your report; the bare facts are all I need.
surreptitious
mollify
partisan
superfluous
25. A doting mother - Emma was more likely to praise her son's childish finger paintings than to _____ them.
proximity
expedient
disparage
brevity
26. I am a _____ about the proposed new health plan; I want some proof that it will work.
presumptuous
dogmatic
skeptic
esoteric
27. When both Harvard and Stanford accepted Laura - she was in a _____ as to which school she should attend.
preclude
dismiss
surpass
quandary
28. By their use of the Internet - propagandists have been able to _____ their pet doctrines to new audiences around the globe.
disseminate
capricious
implement
impede
29. Matilda thought it was somewhat _____ of the young man to have addressed her without first having been introduced. Perhaps manners were freer here in the New World.
reprimand
profound
interpid
presumptuous
30. Dirt poor and out of work - she did not give up but continued to fight against _____.
derivative
impeccable
adversary
adversity
31. Jealous of Cinderella's beauty - her _____ stepsisters expressed their spite by forcing her to do menial tasks.
arbitrary
furtive
astute
malicious
32. After medical school - the two doctors took widely _____ paths - one becoming a wealthy plastic surgeon - the other joining the nonprofit Doctors Without Borders.
fastidious
rebuttal
divergent
inadvertently
33. Typically - partygoers are _____; hermits are not.
gregarious
reserve
eulogy
abstract
34. When Amanda said to the ticket scalper - 'One hundred bucks? What do you want - a pound of flesh?' she was making an _____ to Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice.
fastidious
pervasive
ostentatious
allusion
35. This alleged fiscal crisis is no crisis at all. it is based on _____ claims about financial institutions and on scare stories about impending economic ruin.
haughtiness
prevalent
specious
dogmatic
36. A miser hoards money - not because he is _____ - but because he is stingy.
prudent
ironic
embellish
apathy
37. Though Widow Douglas had hopes of reforming Huck - Miss Watson considered him _____ and swore he would come to no good end.
profane
scrutiny
laconic
incorrigible
38. The reviewers praised the new restaurant's _____ selection of dishes - which ranged from Asian stir fries to French ragouts and stews.
constraint
substantiate
eclectic
scrupulous
39. We could tell we were in serious trouble from the _____ of the principal's expression.
profound
gravity
discrepancy
dogmatic
40. Icebreakers were needed to _____ the trapped whales from the icy floes that closed them in.
ostentatious
extricate
adversary
soporific
41. Despite Tom's _____ of innocence - Aunt Polly suspected he had eaten the pie.
nonchalance
affirmation
extol
alleviate
42. The young princess made the foolish _____ that the regent would not object to her taking the reins of power.
colloquial
emulate
arbitrary
assumption
43. Uninterested in philosophical or spiritual discussions - Max talked only of _____ matters - such as the daily weather forecast or the latest basketball results.
austere
exacerbate
mundane
renounce
44. The mayfly is an _____ creature; its adult life lasts little more than a day.
incite
furtive
ephemeral
disparity
45. The wealthy - self-indulgent young man felt oddly drawn to the strict - _____ lifestyle practiced by members of some monastic orders.
interpid
ascetic
discrepancy
hierarchy
46. Galileo's assertion that the earth moved around the sun directly contradicted the religious teachings of his day; as a result - he was tried for _____.
specious
frivolous
heresy
elucidate
47. Although Alfred _____ in fulfilling his duties at work - he is less conscientious about meeting his obligations at home.
conciliatory
scrupulous
ambivalence
adversity
48. On certain issues of principle - the senator refused to take a _____ stand - but let her conscience be her guide.
partisan
subside
austere
levity
49. 'Any publicity is good publicity - 'said the starlet. 'If I can't have a good reputation - I'll settle for _____.'
subside
deprecate
notoriety
levity
50. Youth's beauty is _____; it quickly fades with age.
fastidious
detachment
resolution
transient