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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. _____ to his downtrodden existence - the day laborer was too meek to protest his supervisor's bullying.
buttress
resigned
expedient
capricious
2. 'Judicial activism' is the alleged tendency of some judges to _____ the power of elected legislatures by making the law rather than merely interpreting it.
coercion
placate
condone
usurp
3. Don't bore your audience with excess verbiage; be _____.
surreptitious
acclaim
prevalent
succinct
4. By their use of the Internet - propagandists have been able to _____ their pet doctrines to new audiences around the globe.
colloquial
refute
prudent
disseminate
5. The classic cowboy hero is a _____ figure - someone generally described as the strong - silent type.
abridge
laconic
terse
nonchalance
6. The reviewers praised the new restaurant's _____ selection of dishes - which ranged from Asian stir fries to French ragouts and stews.
eclectic
garrulous
gravity
frivolous
7. You had better _____ your accounting errors before the auditors arrive.
frivolous
recount
rebuttal
rectify
8. The rich new student tried to attract friends by making an _____ display of his wealth.
equivocal
adversity
ostentatious
preclude
9. A pragmatic politician - he was guided more by what was _____ than by what was right.
prolific
censure
expedient
impeccable
10. Whenever Sue was angry - she tried to avoid raising her voice because she had no wish to sound _____.
dismiss
strident
alleviate
reticent
11. Unlike Widow Douglas - who _____ Huck's minor offenses - Miss Watson did nothing but scold.
buttress
cryptic
condone
soporific
12. 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 _____.
erudite
incite
digression
ostentatious
13. Although Georgia O'Keeffe painted many subjects over the years - she had a definite _____ for painting flowers.
predilection
innate
pragmatic
derision
14. Because Sal once had fallen asleep while reading War and Peace - he thought that all Russian novels were _____.
nurture
austere
rancor
soporific
15. The bottle of wine I brought to Sharon's party was certainly _____: how was I to know that Sharon owned a winery?
extraneous
hypothetical
disdain
redundant
16. Disappointed in love - Miss Emily became a _____; she shut herself away in her empty mansion and refused to see another living soul.
recluse
advocate
homogeneous
cryptic
17. The mayor was unwilling to _____ the plan until she was sure it had the governor's backing.
innocuous
eclectic
mollify
implement
18. Government agents have been known to use wiretapping and other _____ methods to spy on suspected terrorists.
advocate
constraint
surreptitious
ostentatious
19. Through the comments of the characters in his cartoon strip - Doonesbury - Gary Trudeau ridicules political corruption; his humor is _____ in nature.
satirical
reprimand
placate
abstract
20. The headmaster's _____ demeanor tended to care off the more timid students - who never visited his study willingly.
decorum
guile
austere
reticent
21. Though Glenn was devout - he was no _____; he never tried to force his beliefs on friends.
notoriety
opportunist
abridge
zealot
22. In a fiery speech - Mario _____ his fellow students to go out on strike to protest the university's anti-affirmative action stand.
incite
cursory
abridge
lethargic
23. The young princess made the foolish _____ that the regent would not object to her taking the reins of power.
gregarious
assumption
venerate
garrulous
24. Denying that she advocated total _____ - Katya maintained she wished only to change our government - not to destroy it utterly.
cryptic
anarchy
indifferent
arbitrary
25. Uncertain which suitor she ought to accept - the princess _____ - first favoring one and then the other.
fallacious
coercion
nurture
vacillate
26. The conceited rap star relished the _____ he received from his groupies and yes-men.
interpid
reticent
adulation
subside
27. Although Eric knew the boss had no sense of humor - he couldn't resist making one _____ remark.
reprimand
jocular
fallacious
opulence
28. Using only a few descriptive phrases - Austen manages to _____ the character of Mr. Collins so deftly that we can predict his every move.
alleviate
delineate
eclectic
elucidate
29. There's no point to what you're saying. Why are you bothering to make such _____ remarks?
scrutiny
inane
innate
soporific
30. The president _____ the astronauts - whom he called 'the pioneers of the Space Age.'
extol
adversary
debunk
reticent
31. Nothing could shake his _____ that his children would get the best education that money could buy.
obdurate
resolution
advocate
soporific
32. All things change over time; nothing is _____.
interpid
immutable
reprimand
refute
33. Please try not to include so many _____ details in your report; the bare facts are all I need.
superfluous
impair
placate
cursory
34. A radical committed to social change - Reed had no patience with the conservative views _____ in the America of his day.
prevalent
exemplary
rebuttal
pragmatic
35. 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 _____.
embellish
deprecate
arbitrary
heresy
36. The legendary athlete Jim Thorpe - who _____ all his competitors at the 1912 Olympic Games - made a name for himself in baseball - football - and track.
surpass
acclaim
abstract
opportunist
37. Because Carmen believed in Juan's fidelity - she _____ the notion that he might be having an affair.
meticulous
dismiss
belie
aesthetic
38. What _____ did you use when you selected this essay as the prizewinner?
criterion
induce
autonomous
immutable
39. Even the best-mannered students have trouble behaving with _____ on the last day of school.
decorum
volatile
innocuous
extraneous
40. Tina was still angry despite Tony's soft and _____ words.
conciliatory
strident
exemplary
surpass
41. The mayfly is an _____ creature; its adult life lasts little more than a day.
hierarchy
credulity
rectify
ephemeral
42. Stories in The New York Times often include _____ allusions to obscure people and events.
acclaim
esoteric
colloquial
ambiguous
43. When you send a message on Twitter - be _____; a tweet cannot be more than 140 characters long.
malicious
concise
disparity
pervasive
44. Dirt poor and out of work - she did not give up but continued to fight against _____.
lethargic
inane
adversity
haughtiness
45. Because she was a firm believer in old-fashioned courtesy - Miss Post _____ the modern tendency to address new acquaintances by their first names.
deprecate
exacerbate
extol
autonomous
46. When acacias are in bloom - the increase of pollen in the air _____ Richard's hay fever.
exacerbate
hierarchy
reserve
nonchalance
47. Although her early poetry was clearly _____ in nature - the critics thought she had promise and eventually would find her own voice.
derivative
astute
proximity
elusive
48. You can _____ your chances of being admitted to the college of your choice by learning to write well.
indifferent
levity
enhance
mundane
49. Typically - partygoers are _____; hermits are not.
lavish
compliance
gregarious
inadvertently
50. Uninterested in philosophical or spiritual discussions - Max talked only of _____ matters - such as the daily weather forecast or the latest basketball results.
peripheral
mundane
benign
constraint