Word Knowledge · Practice test 8

Correct answer: persuade gently

To coax someone is to persuade them gently and patiently, so persuade gently fits the nervous recruit.

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Correct answer: lessen

To mitigate a risk is to reduce how bad it is, so lessen is the match. Prevent is the trap, since mitigation accepts that the thing may still happen and only softens it.

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Correct answer: hardship

An ordeal is a long, painful experience to get through, so hardship is the closest match.

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Correct answer: task

A chore is a small, routine job that needs doing, so task is the closest match.

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Correct answer: logical

A coherent plan hangs together so each part follows from the last, so logical is the closest match. Its opposite, incoherent, describes speech that cannot be followed.

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Correct answer: fake

To feign illness is to pretend to be sick, so fake fits the sentence.

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Correct answer: mourn

To lament a loss is to express deep sorrow over it, so mourn fits. Celebrate means the opposite response.

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Correct answer: consider

To ponder is to think something over carefully, so consider fits the commander weighing the risks.

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Correct answer: above or beyond

The prefix super- means above or beyond, so to supervise is to watch over from above and superior means higher in rank.

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Correct answer: weak

Feeble describes something without strength, whether a body or an argument, so weak is the closest meaning.

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Correct answer: hinder

To impede is to slow or obstruct something without stopping it entirely, so hinder is the closest match. Assist reverses the meaning.

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Correct answer: not or apart

The prefix dis- reverses or negates a meaning, so to disconnect is to separate what was joined and to disagree is to not agree.

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Correct answer: tired

Weary describes someone worn out by effort, so tired is the closest match.

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Correct answer: cloudy

Murky water is too clouded to see through, so cloudy is the closest match. Shallow describes depth rather than clarity.

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Correct answer: to carry

The root port means to carry, so transport carries across, portable can be carried, and export carries out of a country.

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Correct answer: making or doing

The Latin root fac/fact means to make or do, so a factory is a place where things are made and to manufacture is to make by hand or machine.

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Correct answer: fear

To dread something is to fear it in advance. Expect is close but carries no fear, and avoid describes an action rather than the feeling.

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Correct answer: quick to evaporate

The sealed container is the clue: the substance would escape as vapour if left open, which is the chemical sense of volatile. The word also describes a person liable to sudden outbursts, but a solvent has no temper.

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Correct answer: outstanding

Exemplary conduct is held up as an example worth copying, so outstanding is the closest match. Typical is the trap, since the word looks like example but means far better than ordinary.

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Correct answer: before or earlier

Pre- places something earlier in time: to preheat an oven is to heat it beforehand, and prewar means before the war. Its opposite is post-, meaning after.

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Correct answer: wave threateningly

To brandish a weapon is to wave it in a threatening display, so wave threateningly fits the sentence.

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Correct answer: unstable

Precarious means insecure and liable to fail at any moment, so unstable fits a bridge that should not be crossed.

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Correct answer: support

Applied to a beam and a load, sustain means to bear or hold up, so support fits. The word has a second sense, to keep something going, as in sustaining an effort.

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Correct answer: current of air

A draft here is a current of moving air, the sense that fits a gap under a door. The written and military senses of draft do not fit this sentence.

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Correct answer: honesty

Integrity is the quality of being honest and holding firm moral principles, so honesty is the closest match.

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Correct answer: hidden

A latent defect is already there but shows no sign of itself until something brings it out, so hidden is the match. Harmless is the trap, since the defect was real the whole time.

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Correct answer: faint

A dim light is weak and hard to see by, so faint is the closest match. Blinding describes an extremely strong light, the opposite idea.

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Correct answer: talent

Aptitude is a natural ability to learn or perform a task, so talent is the closest match.

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Correct answer: idea

A notion is a general idea or belief, so idea is the closest match.

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Correct answer: weakening from repeated stress

Applied to metal, fatigue is the gradual failure caused by repeated loading, which is why years of vibration appears in the sentence. Sleepiness is the everyday sense and the trap here.

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Correct answer: prove

To substantiate a claim is to support it with evidence, so prove is the closest match. The word shares a root with substance, the solid backing a claim needs.

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Correct answer: gloomy

Dismal describes something bleak and depressing, so gloomy fits the rain-soaked fields described.

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Correct answer: fade

Waning daylight is light that is gradually decreasing, so fade fits. Increase is the opposite direction.

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Correct answer: arrest

With officers and a suspect, apprehend means to take into custody, so arrest fits. Understand is its other genuine sense, as in apprehending an idea, and pursue describes what came before the arrest.

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Correct answer: give in

To relent is to give in after initially refusing, so give in fits the officer who finally granted leave.

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