501Sentence Completion Questions

ecially unjustly.
455. e. Impetuous (adj.) means impulsive or passionate; characterized by
sudden emotion or energy.
456. b. Knave (n.) is a dishonest, deceitful, or unreliable person.
457. e. Scurrilous (adj.) means grossly indecent or vulgar; offensive.
458. b. Obstructive (adj.) means blocking, hindering; obscuring.
459. b. Virtual (adj.) means being in essence or effect, but not in actual
fact.
460. d. To palpitate (v.) is to flutter or move with slight throbs.
461. b. Wry (adj.) means ironic, cynical, or sardonic.
462. e. Nonchalant (adj.) means casual, indifferent.
463. d. To wield (v.) means to use, control, or manage, as a weapon, or
instrument, especially with full command.
464. c. A sleight (n.) means a trick or feat so deftly done that the
manner of performance escapes observation.
465. b. Awry (adj.) means off-course, amiss; turned or twisted toward
one side, askew; not functioning properly.
166
501 Sentence Completion Questions
167
466. c. Paraphernalia (n.) are miscellaneous articles needed for
particular professions, information, or operation.
467. a. Arrant (adj.) means complete, absolute, utter.
468. a. Guileless (adj.) means to be without guile; straightforward;
honest; frank.
469. d. To vivify (v.) means to give or bring life to; to animate.
470. c. Nicety (n.) means precision, accuracy; a subtle distinction or
detail; the state of being nice.
471. c. To sequester (v.) means to separate, segregate, seclude; cause to
withdraw or retire, as with juries.
472. e. Bemused (adj.) means deeply absorbed in thought; bewildered or
perplexed by many conflicting situations or statements.
473. d. To comport (v.) means to conduct or behave (oneself) in a certain
manner; to agree, accord, or harmonize.
474. d. Heuristic (adj.) means stimulating further investigation;
encouraging learning through discoveries made by a student.
475. e. Virago (n.) means a bold, impudent, turbulent woman.
501 Sentence Completion Questions
169
476. Even though he was only in kindergarten, Joel was very ______
and could intuit when his teacher was not pleased with his
behavior.
a. obtuse
b. oblivious
c. inept
d. perceptive
e. indolent
477. During his many years of hard work, Paul was promoted several
times and began to rise through the bank’s ______ of employees.
a. declassification
b. surplus
c. hierarchy
d. principality
e. dominion
Chapter 20
478. The heat was absolutely ______, making everyone irritable, sweaty,
and uncomfortable.
a. taciturn
b. salient
c. replete
d. prosaic
e. oppressive
479. The biology students were assigned the task of testing the ______ ,
but did not have enough time to prove its validity.
a. lexicon
b. hypothesis
c. motif
d. platitude
e. genesis
480. It had rained all afternoon, but the fans were still ______ that the
baseball game would still be played.
a. pessimistic
b. sadistic
c. optimistic
d. domineering
e. truant
481. If you have any special needs or requests, speak to Val; she’s the
one with the most ______ around here.
a. synergy
b. clout
c. affinity
d. guile
e. infamy
482. Because Virgil had been so ______ as a child, he had an extremely
difficult time adjusting when he enrolled in the military academy.
a. fettered
b. intrepid
c. coddled
d. pallid
e. odious
170
501 Sentence Completion Questions
171
483. Far from being a ______, Bob gets up at dawn every morning to
prepare for a long day at work after which he attends classes in
evening.
a. moderator
b. drone
c. replica
d. sycophant
e. sluggard
484. The vulgarity used by the football fans at the stadium was ______
and eventually lead to a penalty for the team.
a. rakish
b. quiescent
c. sagacious
d. reproachable
e. mundane
485. After the debate, Karim ______ upon many of the campaign issues
in a series of detailed editorials.
a. expounded
b. ebbed
c. doffed
d. temporized
e. wrought
486. Since the judge hearing the case was related to one of the
defendants, she felt she could not offer a truly ______ opinion.
a. unbiased
b. indifferent
c. unilateral
d. uninterested
e. understated
501 Sentence Completion Questions
487. Abdul found his ten-hour shifts at the paper clip factory repetitive
and ______.
a. fatuous
b. nebulous
c. malleable
d. indelible
e. wearisome
488. Jonelle is a(n) ______ of the kind of student we seek: someone who
is both academically strong and actively involved in the
community.
a. paradox
b. exemplar
c. catalyst
d. mandate
e. harbinger
489. Tomas is a(n) ______ businessman who knows a good opportunity
when he sees it.
a. insolent
b. astute
c. mercurial
d. indifferent
e. volatile
490. Sean would ______ whenever it became his turn to do the dishes.
a. premeditate
b. palter
c. reform
d. distend
e. ponder
491. The barnyard scene outside the 4-H tent made a charming ______
for visitors to the state fair.
a. melee
b. tabloid
c. tableau
d. rant
e. tangent
172
501 Sentence Completion Questions
173
492. The jellyfish, known for its shimmering ______, is one of nature’s
most intriguing creatures.
a. resonance
b. opulence
c. didactics
d. omniscience
e. translucence
493. A decade after the ______, the members of the tribe began to drift
home again, hoping to rebuild the community they had fled during
the war.
a. kowtow
b. redaction
c. cloister
d. diaspora
e. chimera
494. After performing a ______ of the cow, scientists determined that it
did not have mad cow disease, and there was no need to notify the
board of health.
a. extrapolation
b. interrogation
c. interment
d. elongation
e. vivisection
495. Charged with moral ______, the judge was called off the case even
though he denied receiving bribes from the plaintiff’s counsel.
a. lassitude
b. restitution
c. turpitude
d. torpor
e. vicissitude
501 Sentence Completion Questions
496. I knew from Inga’s ______ reply that she was offended by my
question.
a. sinuous
b. vivacious
c. sinister
d. garrulous
e. brusque
497. The cult leader’s ______ obeyed his every instruction.
a. predecessors
b. sycophants
c. narcissists
d. panderers
e. elocutionists
498. The ______wallpaper in his living room makes it difficult to find
curtains and furniture that will match it.
a. blunt
b. fatuous
c. verbose
d. variegated
e. meticulous
499. Homer’s Odyssey was not translated into many people’s ______ until
after the invention of the printing press.
a. caste
b. epicure
c. vernacular
d. debutant
e. nomenclature
500. Don Quixote describes the adventures of a(n) ______ knight who
believes that windmills are giants and the barmaid Dulcinea is a
princess.
a. gregarious
b. eloquent
c. fickle
d. errant
e. steadfast
174
501 Sentence Completion Questions
175
501. The ______ espionage plot was so sophisticated it was impossible
to believe it was the work of teenage computer hackers.
a. simple
b. vaporized
c. byzantine
d. mystical
e. fusty
501 Sentence Completion Questions
Answers
476. d. Perceptive (adj.) means having the ability to understand and be
sensitive to.
477. c. Hierarchy (n.) is a series or system of people or things that are
graded or ranked; a group of persons in authority.
478. e. Oppressive (adj.) means unreasonably burdensome; heavy.
479. b. Hypothesis (n.) is a proposition, believed to be probable, which is
adopted to explain certain facts and which can be further tested.
480. c. Optimistic (adj.) means taking the most hopeful view; feeling
that everything in nature is for the best.
481. b. Clout (n.) means influence, pull, or sway; power or muscle; a
strike or blow, especially with the fist.
482. c. To coddle (v.) means to treat with excessive indulgence or
tenderness, to baby or pamper. It also means to cook in water
just below the boiling point.
483. e. A sluggard (n.) is a person who is habitually lazy or idle.
484. a. Reproachable (adj.) means needing rebuke or censure; in a
manner that is severe or cutting.
485. a. To expound (v.) means to explain in detail, elaborate; to give a
detailed statement or account of.
486. a. Unbiased (adj.) means completely impartial to, as in judgment.
487. e. Wearisome (adj.) means fatiguing or tiresome.
488. b. An exemplar (n.) is one who is worthy of imitation, a model or
ideal; a typical or representative example.
176
501 Sentence Completion Questions
177
489. b. Astute (adj.) means having or showing intelligence and
shrewdness; keen, discerning.
490. b. To palter (v.) is to act insincerely; to haggle; to play tricks;
equivocate.
491. c. A tableau (n.) is an arrangement of inanimate figures
representing a scene from real life.
492. e. Translucence (n.) means the property or state of allowing the
passage of light.
493. d. A diaspora (n.) is a dispersion of people from their original
homeland, or the community formed by such a people; the
dispersion of an originally homogeneous group or entity, such
as a language or culture.
494. e. Vivisection (n.) means the dissection of an animal, particularly
for scientific research.
495. c. Turpitude (n.) means depravity; any action that violates accepted
standards.
496. e. Brusque (adj.) means abrupt, curt, or blunt in a discourteous
manner.
497. b. A sycophant (n.) is a servile flatterer, especially of those in
authority or influence.
498. d. Variegated (adj.) means marked with different shades or colors.
499. c. Vernacular (n.) means the language of one’s country.
500. d. Errant (adj.) means wandering, roving, especially in search of
adventure; straying beyond the established course or limits.
501 Sentence Completion Questions
501. c. Byzantine (adj.) means highly complicated, intricate or involved;
characterized by elaborate scheming and intrigue, devious; of or
relating to or characteristic of the Byzantine Empire or ancient
Byzantium, especially its architectural style; of or relating to the
Eastern Orthodox Church.
178
501 Sentence Completion Questions