VOCAB:
DECEIT, ERROR, & CONFUSION
DECEIT, ERROR, & CONFUSION
The account the witness provided was so ________ that the jury could not follow it.
(A) alluded
(B) convoluted
(C) muted
(D) baffled
(B) convoluted (adj)
con- together + volutus rolled
(1) (of an argument or story) complicated and difficult to follow :
(2) intricately folded : The human cortex is a convoluted shell of interconnected neurons.
Form: convolution = a deep fold, esp. one of many; something complex and difficult to understand
Synonyms: tortuous, byzantine
Root family: [con-, co-, com-, col-] conformist (one who conscientiously complies with the standards of a group, coherent (forming a united whole), compliant (willing to obey), confluence (a place at which two things merge)
Root family: [vol] revolution (one complete rotation; a complete political overthrow), involved (“rolled up in”), voluble (fluently talkative)
Confused by the vibrant colors of a Flamingo Tongue Snail's body, these snails will often be collected by divers who mistake them for shells.
(A) NO CHANGE
(B) divers often mis take these snails for shells and collect them.
(C) the bodies of these snails are often mistaken for shells, and divers will collect them.
(D) collecting these snails because they look like shells is a common mistake made by divers.
(D) collecting these snails because they look like shells is a common mistake made by divers.
This is the best choice. "Divers" is effectively placed so that "confused" logically describes them.
Gena is so _________ that she will surely make new friends at camp.
(A) affable
(B) ineffable
(C) effable
(D) laughable
(A) affable (adj)
friendly and good-natured :
Form: affability = friendliness and good nature
Synonyms: amiable, genial, gregarious
Don’t confuse with: ineffable (unable to be described in words)
Mnemonic: An affable person is able to laugh easily (affable = laugh-able) which makes him or her very easy to like. But be careful not to confuse affable with laughable (ridiculous to the point of being amusing).
Since human consumption is diminishing fish and shellfish populations, and the World Wildlife Federation is advocating for stricter limitations on fishing.
(A) NO CHANGE
(B) populations, but
(C) Before
(D) populations,
(D) populations,
The crowd soon _________ after it was announced that the band had left the stadium.
(A) conversed
(B) dispensed
(C) dispersed
(D) rehearsed
(C) dispersed (v)
dis- apart + spargere to scatter or sprinkle
to spread or scatter over a wide area :
Form: dispersion = scattering over a wide area
Root family: [dis-] discernment (the ability to make fine distinctions), disparate (very different; variegated), discrepancy (a lack of compatibility between facts or claims), disseminate (to cast widely), dispel (to drive away; to eliminate), diffuse (spread over a wide area)
Root family: [spers] aspersion (a derogatory remark), interspersed (distributed at intervals)
Don’t confuse with: dispense (supply, distribute, or provide), diverse (showing great variety)
He considered a career as a spy but wondered whether he had the skill or moral flexibility to engage in such _________.
(A) debauchery
(B) hedonism
(C) duplicity
(D) duplication
(C) duplicity (n)
duplicitas twofold
deceitfulness; double-dealing :
Form: duplicitous = deceitful
Synonyms: chicanery, subterfuge, treachery, perfidy
Root family: [dupl, duo] duplicate (to make a copy), duplex (a two-floor apartment building), dual (twofold) Don’t confuse with: duplication (the process of making a copy)
Earning its batter four full points, baseball celebrates the "Grand Slam" as its most coveted play—a home run with three loaded bases.
(A) NO CHANGE
(B) a "Grand Slam" refers to the best play you can hit in baseball: a home run with the bases loaded.
(C) three loaded bases provide an opportunity to make the most coveted play in baseball: a home run referred to as a "Grand Slam."
(D) one highlight of any baseball team's season is when its batter makes a "Grand Slam:" a home run with the bases loaded.
(B) a "Grand Slam" refers to the best play you can hit in baseball: a home run with the bases loaded.
This is the best choice. "Grand Slam" is effectively placed so that the introductory phrase "Earning its batter four full points" logically describes the Grand Slam.
Rather than rousing indignation, Senator Paulson’s concession speech was benign and gracious.
(A) benighted
(B) benign
(C) confined
(D) aligned
(B) benign (adj)
bene good + genus born
gentle; causing no harm :
Synonyms: innocuous, anodyne
Root family: [ben, bon] beneficiary (one who receives a benefit), benevolent (kindly), benefactor (one who provides a benefit)
Don’t confuse with: benighted (in a woeful state of ignorance, literally “in the darkness of night”)
It will be impossible for any of us to get seats at the concert and we leave now.
(A) NO CHANGE
(B) unless
(C) because
(D) since
(B) unless
Selena’s sense of satisfaction was _______.
(A) transient
(B) intransigent
(C) precipitous
(D) stagnant
(A) transient (adj)
trans to a different place + ire to go
lasting a short period of time :
Forms: transience = impermanence, transitory = transient, transient (n) = a homeless person
Synonyms: fleeting, ephemeral, evanescent
Root family: [trans-] transcend (to rise above), transportation (means of carrying from place to place), translation (the act or result of expressing something in a different language)
Don’t confuse with: intransigent (stubbornly unwilling to change one’s views)
Benedict Arnold’s _________ actions are etched in our national history.
(A) treacherous
(B) tortuous
(C) lecherous
(D) trenchant
(A) treacherous (adj)
[1] characterized by or guilty of betrayal :
Form: treachery = abject betrayal
Synonyms: traitorous, duplicitous, perfidious
[2] hazardous : The ocean currents here are very treacherous.
Synonyms: perilous, precarious
Don’t confuse with: tortuous (full of twists and turns), lecherous (showing excessive sexual desire), trenchant (cutting and incisive)
An animation company based in California, Pixar makes its magic with technology.
(A) NO CHANGE
(B) magic is made with technology by Pixar.
(C) making magic is a hallmark of Pixar.
(D) technology gives Pixar its magical touch.
(A) NO CHANGE
The effects of hurricanes can be _________ by the presence of a thriving barrier island system.
(A) propagated
(B) instigated
(C) mitigated
(D) appropriated
(C) mitigated (v)
to make less serious or severe :
Forms: mitigating = serving to make less serious or severe, unmitigated = without redeeming qualities
Synonyms: palliate, attenuate, allay, assuage
Don’t confuse with: litigate (to file and execute a lawsuit), migrate (to move from one habitat to another, usually according to the season)
Usage: While pacify, placate, appease, propitiate, and conciliate all describe things done to people, words like palliate, mollify, and assuage generally apply to feelings, and words like mitigate and ameliorate can pertain to situations as well as feelings.
Mnemonic: Judges or juries often consider mitigating circumstances before sentencing someone who has been convicted of a crime. Assaulting someone who is perceived as a threat is not as serious as assaulting someone without provocation, so the threatening could be a mitigating circumstance that reduces the sentence for assault.
Although San Francisco Bay's Golden Gate Bridge appears in dozens of films, but it often gets destroyed in action and monster flicks.
(A) NO CHANGE
(B) films, which
(C) films,
(D) films, and
(C) films,
The merger led to a ________ decline in the company’s stock value.
(A) presumptuous
(B) promiscuous
(C) precipitous
(D) preliminary
(C) precipitous (adj)
praecipitare to throw headlong
[1] dangerously high or steep : It was a precipitous drop to the lake.
[2] (of a decline) sudden and dramatic :
[3] (also precipitate [pre sip eh TET]) hasty : The announcement of the layoffs, unfortunately, was precipitous (or precipitate).
Form: precipice = steep rock face or cliff
Don’t confuse with: precipitation (rain, snow, sleet, or hail)
Mnemonic: The nouns precipitation (rain, snow, sleet, or hail), precipice (high cliff), and precipitousness (hastiness) all derive from the Latin praecipitare, (to throw headlong), from prae- (before) + caput (head). Notice how they all pertain to the action of “throwing down” in different ways.
Usage: See usage note at expedite in section 14.
Max’s _________ involved three alibis and a full-scale replica of himself.
(A) progeny
(B) subterfuge
(C) idiosyncrasy
(D) dearth
(B) subterfuge (n)
sub- beneath + fugere to flee
a trick or expedient used to escape a consequence or achieve a goal :
Synonyms: ruse, chicanery
Root family: [sub-] submissive (meekly obedient), subvert (to undermine the authority of another), subjugate (to dominate) Root family: [fug] fugitive (one who is fleeing arrest), refugee (one fleeing strife or persecution), refuge (safe haven), centrifugal (moving away from the center)
Mnemonic: Imagine the Joker using a sub to flee ( fugere = to flee) from Batman.
Having a particular affinity for The Far Side, a new cartoon was projected in biology class every day.
(A) NO CHANGE
(B) it was no surprise that a new cartoon was featured in biology class
(C) my professor projected a new cartoon in biology class
(D) biology class included a new cartoon
(C) my professor projected a new cartoon in biology class
The interviewer asked only _________ questions rather than probing into more interesting topics.
(A) innocuous
(B) obnoxious
(C) sagacious
(D) decadent
(A) innocuous (adj)
in- not + nocuus harmful
not harmful or offensive :
Synonyms: benign, anodyne
Root family: [in-, im-] insipid (flavorless), insuperable (impossible to overcome), inert (lacking vigor), interminable (unending), indefatigable (untiring), ineffable (inexpressible in words), inscrutable (beyond understanding), impassive (unemotional), incongruous (not consistent with expectations)
Root family: [nocu, noxi] innocent (not guilty), noxious (harmful), obnoxious (rudely unpleasant)
Every 4th of July, Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs hosts a popular hot dog eating contest, however, many have asked if competitive eating is a safe sport.
(A) NO CHANGE
(B) but
(C) therefore
(D) instead
(B) but
Her moods are as _________ as the weather.
(A) protracted
(B) mutable
(C) obliging
(D) benevolent
(B) mutable (adj)
mutare to change
changeable :
Forms: immutable = unchangeable, mutability = changeability
Synonyms: protean, fickle, mercurial
Root family: [mut] commute (to travel to and from work; to reduce a criminal sentence; to rearrange numbers that are being added or multiplied), mutation (a change in the structure of a gene, or the result of that change), permutation (rearrangement) Don’t confuse with: mute (to silence)
Mnemonic: Something that is malleable can be shaped by a mallet, like clay or a soft metal can.
Todd’s awkward joke was a sincere but _________ attempt to lighten the mood.
(A) apt
(B) inapt
(C) inert
(D) inept
(D) inept (adj)
in- not + aptus well suited
unskilled; clumsy :
Form: ineptitude = clumsiness; lack of skill
Synonyms: feckless, maladroit, bumbling, ineffectual
Root family: [in-, im-] insipid (flavorless), insuperable (impossible to overcome), inert (lacking vigor), interminable (unending), incongruous (not consistent with expectations)
Root family: [apt, ept] aptitude (natural skill), adapt (to make to fit a new situation or use), adept (skillful) Don’t confuse with: inapt (inappropriate or unsuitable to the situation)
Putting the final touches on her life-size wax mold of a unicorn, the chisel slipped and knocked off the unicorn's signature horn.
(A) NO CHANGE
(B) Henrietta's chisel slipped and knocked off the unicorn's signature horn.
(C) Henrietta lost her grip on the chisel and knocked off the unicorn's signature horn.
(D) its signature horn was knocked off when Henrietta's chisel slipped.
Lisa’s office mates became _________ when they heard that her daughter was ill.
(A) conspicuous
(B) deleterious
(C) archaic
(D) solicitous
(D) solicitous (adj)
citus set in motion
showing interest or concern :
Forms: solicitude = care or concern for someone or something, solicit = to ask (someone) for something
Root family: [cit] excite (to elicit energetic feelings in someone; to energize something), incite (to encourage violence or illicit behavior), resuscitate (to bring back to life)
Usage: Many Americans assume that solicitous has a negative connotation because solicitations (requests for money or other donations) can be annoying. However, solicitude is not badgering but sincere concern. This meaning is conveyed more accurately in the British definition of solicitor as “an attorney who assists a client,” rather than the American definition of “one who requests donations.”
Don’t confuse with: solicitor (one who requests donations for charity; (in the U.K.) an attorney)
That the hole in the ozone layer is directly above Australia and New Zealand, these countries have the highest incidence of melanoma in the world.
(A) NO CHANGE
(B) Because
(C) Even though
(D) However
(B) Because
This choice appropriately uses the conjunction "because" to explain why residents of Australia and New Zealand experience high levels of melanoma.
The coach’s speech provided the _________ for the team to redouble its efforts in the second half.
(A) impiousness
(B) impishness
(C) guile
(D) impetus
(D) impetus (n)
im- toward + petere to strive after
the force that makes something move or energizes a process :
Root family: [im-] impugn (to call into question), impute (to attribute something to someone)
Root family: [pet] impetuous (spontaneous and without planning), perpetuate (to help continue for an extended period), petulant (childishly ill-tempered)
Don’t confuse with: impious (not devoutly religious), impish (mischievous)
Mnemonic: Imagine an imp (a mischievous child) poking you (impaling you?) in the back and giving you the impetus to run faster.