The director, accustomed to unquestioning loyalty, was chagrined when she discovered that her directions had been ____ by the chief executive.
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Solution
Correct Answer: C,F
Explanation:
Since ‘chagrined’ means annoyed or upset, we can infer that the chief executive must have gone against the directions of the director. The correct answers are ‘undermined’ and ‘subverted’ (both of which mean attempted to overthrow or negated). [underscored = emphasized; substantiated = given supporting evidence]
It is not only the poor and uneducated that fall prey to ____ ; desperate or unhappy individuals from any walk of life or social background can be duped.
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Solution
Correct Answer: C,D
Explanation:
The word ‘duped’ is the clue. ‘Quacks’ and ‘charlatans’ are tricksters who fool people, often by pretending to have expertise in an area such as medicine. [mavericks = people who do not follow the herd; hypochondriacs = people with imaginary illnesses]
The novel is admittedly not the finest example of its genre, but I object to the ____ preface written by a supposed expert on detective fiction from whom we might have expected at least one or two perceptive comments.
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Solution
Correct Answer: B,E
Explanation:
The writer is complaining about a preface which apparently does not contain any insights (perceptive comments). Hence we can say that the preface is ‘inane’ or ‘vacuous’ as these words suggest something empty of meaning. [egregious = outstandingly obvious, blatant; pretentious = putting on an act of superiority; subliminal = under the threshold of consciousness]
With an abiding interest in Medieval poetry, Boris found it difficult to relate to his peers in school whose ____ ran to nothing even remotely literary.
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Solution
Correct Answer: A,C
Explanation:
The interests of Boris and his peers are opposed. Since the words ‘predilections’ and ‘inclinations’ are synonyms for interests in or leanings toward something, they are the best answers.
If he had not had the ____ to follow his own iconoclastic theories in the face of the apparently unassailable conclusion of the accepted experts in the field, progress would have been inestimably slower in this area of knowledge.
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Solution
Correct Answer: B,C
Explanation:
Since he went against the accepted authorities he would have needed some amount of nerve or daring. ‘Audacity’ and ‘temerity’ can both be used of the kind of daring that is needed to challenge authority. Remember to note any unfamiliar words in the sentence as well as in the answer choices. In case you are unfamiliar with the word, ‘iconoclastic’ means ‘against accepted authority’.
Fraser taught by example: he ____ long-windedness in his own lectures and berated his students for any tendency toward circumlocution.
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Solution
Correct Answer: A,F
Explanation:
Since he taught by example, and he criticized (berated) his students for circumlocution ( using too many words) he must have avoided (‘shunned’ or ‘eschewed’) long-windedness in his own lectures. [ epitomized = acted as a good example of]
To the layman, a philosopher who attempts to elucidate a complex moral dilemma by reducing it to a simple yet apparently ridiculous test case seems rather to ____ the issue.
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Solution
Correct Answer: B,E
Explanation:
The word ‘rather’ suggests that the attempt to ‘elucidate’ (make clear) has the opposite effect. ‘Obfuscate’ and ‘becloud’ both imply that something has been made more obscure. [denigrate = decry; attenuate = weaken]
Grandfather liked us children to learn self-discipline, and, unlike many others of his generation, seldom ____ us even for those actions that we felt deserved censure.
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Solution
Correct Answer: C,F
Explanation:
The sentence implies that the grandfather did not discipline the children even when their actions deserved ‘censure’ (strong criticism or blame). Hence, we can say he seldom ‘upbraided’ or ‘chided’ the children. Both these words imply scolding and berating.
The ____ effects of constant noise drove Natasha to seek refuge in a more salubrious spot until she recovered her mental equilibrium.
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Solution
Correct Answer: B,D
Explanation:
The noise must have been bad for the health as Natasha seeks a more ‘salubrious’ or health-giving place. ‘Debilitating’ and ‘enervating’ are correct as they both mean weakening. [soporific = sleep-inducing]
____ adherence to outdated political ideas and defunct sects characterized the last years of a man who had, surprisingly, been one of the most flexible thinkers of the 1920s.
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Solution
Correct Answer: A,F
Explanation:
The word ‘surprising’ offers an important clue. Once the person had been flexible but in his later years became its opposite: inflexible. The words that best convey this idea are ‘intransigent’ and ‘dogged’ which both mean stubborn and inflexible. [vacillating = wavering]