Finally, after refusing for a decade, the family patriarch, weakened by age and infirmity, surrendered to the impassioned pleas of his avaricious nieces, and gave his ________ to the risky investment stratagem.
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Solution
Assent.
While the structure might seem tricky, the blank must oppose refusing for a decade since the patriarch “surrendered.” Agreement would be a good focus. The other choices do not fit the text and are essentially phonetic tricks. An asseveration is an emphatic assertion. Note the word avaricious in the sentence — it means “greedy,” but it turns out that you didn’t need to know that to answer this question.
Though some judges have found in the Third Amendment to the US Constitution a (i) _________ for a right to privacy, it was drafted primarily to appease opponents of the Constitution, and was particularly a (ii) _________ to those antifederalists who sought to prevent the new state from maintaining a standing army. Since Article 1, section 8 of the Constitution explicitly grants to Congress the power to raise and maintain an army, the Third Amendment was largely (ii) _________ before it was written.
| Blank (i) | Blank (ii) | Blank (iii) |
| detriment | boon | daft |
| basis | sop | gauche |
| counterargument | bolster | moot |
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Solution
Basis, sop, moot.
The first sentence begins with though, so the first part containing the blank should be opposed to the second part, saying that the Amendment was actually meant to appease opponents. So, the best choice is basis. Your second word should echo “appease.” Sop, which can mean “something given to pacify,” is closest. Since Article 1, section 8 apparently made the Third Amendment of only abstract concern, you want an answer that means something like “of no practical importance.” Moot, which can mean “of merely academic interest,” is your best option.
Mozart’s brief life exemplified a discrepancy between fame and means: as his musical star (i) _________ beyond measure, his income (ii) _________.
| Blank (i) | Blank (ii) |
| abated | grew exponentially |
| waxed | remained exorbitant |
| dwindled | barely stirred |
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Solution
Waxed, barely stirred.
You’ve been told that there is a “discrepancy” or mismatch between Mozart’s fame and his financial situation, so whatever happened to one did not happen to the other. The clue “beyond measure” tells you that his musical star must have grown, so waxed is the only possibility for the first blank. That means Mozart’s income must have either gone down, remained low or barely stirred, which is the correct answer for the second blank. It could not be the case that his income “grew exponentially” or “remained exorbitant,” or there would be no “discrepancy.”
A full account of the complexities of sleep, sought after by scientists, philosophers, and mystics for millennia, continues to elude us. That we are still so ignorant about a topic so (i) _________ to our daily lives is at once fascinating and (ii) _________.
| Blank (i) | Blank (ii) |
| mysterious | deeply humbling |
| obscure | fully impenetrable |
| pertinent | totally blatant |
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Solution
Pertinent, deeply humbling.
Sleep is important, or relevant, to your daily life, making pertinent the best word for the first blank. Don’t be misled by the fact that you don’t fully understand sleep into choosing mysterious or obscure; both are trap answers (being ignorant about a mysterious or obscure topic is hardly “fascinating”). It is also grammatically incorrect to call a topic mysterious or obscure to your daily life. Regarding the second blank, the expression “at once X and Y” indicates at least a loose contrast, so you need something that could contrast with fascinating. The clue “so ignorant” is a good indication that what you want is deeply humbling. Don’t fall for the trap answer fully impenetrable. While the topic of sleep is presented as somewhat impenetrable (that is, hard to understand), the blank is not describing sleep, but rather your ignorance about it.
While no single empirical investigation can ever conclusively prove the (i) _________ of a theory, the fact that our data are (ii) _________ findings from over a dozen independent labs worldwide bodes well for our framework’s resilience.
| Blank (i) | Blank (ii) |
| rationality | consistent with |
| veracity | founded on |
| candor | antithetical to |
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Solution
Veracity, consistent with.
No single experiment can ever prove the “truth,” or veracity, of a theory. Rationality is close but connotes the idea of the theory being logical, rather than factual. For the second blank, in order for the theory to be supported, or “resilient,” the results from independent labs should agree with each other, or be consistent with each other.
The famous Notre Dame cathedral in Paris took almost two hundred years to complete; this immense architectural effort included the first notable use of a flying ________, but this renowned feature was not part of the original design and only employed when the walls forming the nave began to crumble and needed additional support.
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Solution
Buttress.
Buttress, as a noun or a verb, relates to support and is therefore justified by the clue “additional support.” None of the other choices relate to the text. Note that you certainly do not need to memorize architectural terms for the GRE, but you should definitely know the metaphorical meaning of buttress (to support), and the sentence provides the clue about “needed additional support,” so this question is fair game.
Evoking both horror and joy in its audience in equal measure, the opera became an instant classic of _________ technique.
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Solution
Contrapuntal.
You are looking for a word that means “having two distinct components,” since the opera is capable of evoking two distinct emotions. Contrapuntal means “having two or more independent harmonies,” and is a good fit. Macabre is a trap, since it goes along with horror but leaves out joy. Articulate is related to speech and is inappropriate here. And while the technique may be contrived (not natural, planned) or figurative (using metaphor or other non-literal device to convey meaning), nothing in the sentence suggests either.
(i) _________ the law had little impact, but it was (ii) _________ by subsequent legislation providing funding and enforcement.
| Blank (i) | Blank (ii) |
| Justifiably | rendered moot |
| Unbelievably | given teeth |
| Initially | kept at bay |
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Solution
Initially, given teeth.
For the first blank, you need something to contrast with “subsequent.” Thus, you need a word that means “at first.” In the second blank, you need something that will contrast with having “little impact” and will match the idea of a law now gaining funding and enforcement. Only given teeth has this (obviously metaphorical) meaning.
In this day and age, side show barkers, competing with the unfathomable number of spectacular oddities daily displayed on the internet for free, must increasingly lard their pitches with flights of fancy and soaring ______, arching far beyond reality, to fill the seats in their arcades.
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Solution
Hyperboles.
The answer must match the clues “flights of fancy” and “arching far beyond reality.” Hyperbole is exaggeration and is the only choice that fits.
The pair’s apparent antagonism could easily be written off as (i) ________ pure and simple, but further scrutiny should render (ii) ________ the fact that the rivalry also confers a fair amount of (iii) _________, insofar as it provides each an opportunity to derive inspiration and motivation from the other.
| Blank (i) | Blank (ii) | Blank (iii) |
| dissimulation | useless | worthless pride |
| antipathy | patent | mutual benefit |
| flagrancy | spurious | tacit disagreement |
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Solution
Antipathy, patent, mutual benefit.
The first and third blanks are highly related, so consider them first. You learn in the first clause of the sentence that there is “antagonism,” or hostility, between two people, but from the word apparent you learn that there is more to this than meets the eye. More than pure “hatred,” or antipathy, is something that allows the two individuals to “derive inspiration and motivation from the other.” In other words, there is a mutual benefit to the seemingly hostile relationship. Now return to the second blank. Because the structure of the sentence tells you that the antagonism could be written off, but further scrutiny renders it (blank), you know you want a word that goes in the same direction (that is, you will not be “writing off” the antagonism). The best word here is patent, which, when used as an adjective, means “obvious” or “evident.”