31. Cunning, subterfuge. You are told that both Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty engage in "clever
deception," though one of them is "upstanding" and the other is not. You simply need a synonym for "clever
deception." Immorality and wrongdoing do not imply anything clever, and brilliance does not imply deception.
Cunning and subterfuge both fit.
32. Transparent, overt. The etymology of "alpha" is described as "obscure," and the word while implies that the
etymology of "omega" will be "not obscure." Both transparent and overt carry this meaning. Complicated and
abstruse are the opposite of what you want, and neither erudite nor scholarly are particularly relevant to the meaning
of the sentence.
33. Vivacious, mirthful. In this case, sobriety means grave or serious, and you are looking for an antonym,
something like happy or lively. Vivacious means "lively," and mirthful means "full of joy." These are correct
answers. Dull and lackluster are the opposites of what you are looking for.
34. Probity, equity. There are allegations of preferential treatment or unfairness at the local level, and these are
threatening to spill over into criticisms that the system is unfair or partial at the national level. But you are told that
the system's fairness is not currently in dispute at that level, so you are looking for synonyms for fairness or
impartiality. The correct answers are equity and probity.
35. Silence, quietus. The answer revolves around understanding the clue, "aghast," as well as the fact that the
politician wants public attention to wane (reduce). Openness and transparency are an incorrect pair. While perhaps a
policy of openness might have prevented the politician's troubles in the first place, there is no indication from the
sentence that giving more information would cause public interest to decrease.
36. Myrmidons, sycophants. A petty man obsessed with — but in perpetual doubt about — his own power sounds
pretty insecure. You have an additional clue about "subordinates." Correct choices myrmidons and sycophants both
refer to servile followers.
37. Pacific, placid. You need two words that are the opposite of "hectic." You have the additional clue make up for
the stress. Pacific and placid both mean peaceful.
38. Desiccated, wizened. The clues here are very obvious: the man looks even older than his actual age of 70, and as
though he had endured 40 years in the desert. Desiccated means "dried out," and wizened means "old and withered."
Note trap answer arid, which means "dry" — this is a good word to describe a desert, but cannot describe a person.
39. Risible, farcical. The children's attempt at a Mothers Day brunch went pretty badly — so badly that it actually
made more work for Mom. What a joke! Correct choices risible and farcical both mean "laughable." The word
farcical is more negative, but these two words are the only choices that fit. Note that the brunch was not satirical
because it was not making fun of a pre-existing work of art, situation, etc.
40. Gallivant, traipse. You need two words that mean "to walk around in a showing-off sort of way." Both gallivant
and traipse indicate this kind of carefree walking. Sprint is a trap answer — you certainly don't have any sense that the
student was running very fast.
41. Passé, archaic. Apologists are defenders — in this case, people who are trying to make the politician and
strategist seem like a good guy. However, the clues "in his day" and the lack of interest among a "modern public"
indicate that the politician's views are outdated. Only passé and archaic match. (The accent mark on passé exists
because the word came into English from French.) Note that trap answer erroneous just means "wrong" and doesn't
really fit the clues, nor is it appropriate for discussing matters of culture and opinion.
42. An ignominious, an unseemly. Your word here is disgraced. Ignominious and unseemly match well. Note trap
answer defiled, which does not appropriately describe an action (you could defile a holy place by doing something
very inappropriate, but for a place or thing to be defiled, it should be very pure beforehand.)
43. Bogged down, mired. Your clue is that the scandal here is so severe that the company can save itself only
through the rather extreme measure of "mass firings." Bogged down and mired have the sense of being stuck in
something (a bog and a mire are both physical things — swampy, quicksand-like patches). Note trap answer
wallowing — only a person or animal can wallow (and anyone wallowing wouldn't want to "regain favor" anyway).
44. Teeming, abounding. This terrible battle seems to have killed everything ("razed," "eerie stillness"). In contrast,
the streets and squares were once "full of" or "bustling with" (that is, teeming or abounding with) life.
45. Curtailing, undermining. By "obviating," or "getting around," the traditional channels of legislation, the
government is making formal dissent impossible. In other words, it is curtailing or undermining such dissent—words
which both mean to "prevent" or "undercut."
46. A myriad, plethora. The virus spread to a large number (a myriad, a plethora) of bird species. Watch out for trap
answer surplus, which means "an excess" and would not be appropriate to describe bird species.
47. Ramshackle, dilapidated. The key to this question is the phrase "tolerated presence," which indicates that the
"abodes," or houses, are different from the "opulent estates." The pivot phrase "aside from" also provides a nice clue.
Ramshackle and dilapidated, which both mean "run-down," are best. Archaic, meaning "old" or "old-fashioned," is
close, but doesn't possess the same connotations of disrepair or neglect that the two correct answers do.
48. Defector, quisling. Hints to this answer are "revolutionary spirit" and "insurgent militia," both of which indicate
an abandonment of a cause for the opposing one: thus quisling and defector, both of which denote traitors, are best.
49. An impasse, a stalemate. If neither side of the debate is willing to give an inch to the other, then it would be
impossible for a solution to be found. So the debate is more or less frozen. Both a confrontation and an engagement
imply some kind of clash, but the sentence implies that any kind of serious clashing is now over (no one had
anything new to offer). An impasse and a stalemate reflect the static nature of the conflict.
50. Excruciating, torturous. The sensation produced by kidney stones is compared to the "agony of childbirth," so
you know you're looking for a word that means "painful." Painstaking, however, means "done with great care," and
tortuous means "full of twists and turns." Both excruciating and torturous correctly describe terrible pain.
51. Champion, proponent. The second half of this sentence (after the semicolon) tells you that Chris Anderson
charges money for his products, and is introduced by an ironic "interesting." This makes it likely that he supports the
idea of information being free. Champion and proponent both imply support (detractor and critic are a pair with the
opposite meaning of what you want).
52. Strong suit, forte. The word while tells you that you're going to take the opposite of something — in this case,
the fact that the director is "very good" at a lot of stuff. However, the phrase "not at all" will twist you back in the
opposite direction, so you need a word for the blank that means something like "strength." Strong suit and forte both
fit perfectly. Hobby and pastime are a pair, but they don't work here, as this is clearly the director's job. Similarly,
weakness and deficiency are a pair, but the opposite of what you want.'
53. Innovation, novelty. Though tells you that the advent of carbon fiber brought something opposite to "old" or
"adapted" technology. You're looking for words that describe something new or original.
54. Esoteric, arcane. Whatever else Kaballah and theosophy are, they are Western religious traditions, and they must
be mystical themselves if they suggest that it is wrong to associate mysticism only with the East. So you want words
that mean something like "mystical." Esoteric and arcane are the only good answers.
55. Acculturation, assimilation. The structure of this sentence demands a little extra attention. It is those who do
not embrace the values of their homeland who do worse academically, so it is they who pay the price. What comes at a
price, then, is embracing the culture of the new home. You want words that name the process of becoming part of a
new land and culture.
56. Specious, spurious. If Machiavelli only "pretended" to endorse the claims to power, and if they were subject to
exposure and caricature, they must have been not only illegitimate but ridiculous. None of the answers suggests
ridiculousness, but two answers — specious and spurious — mean the claims are false. While not synonyms, both
words describe claims that are superficially attractive, but in fact false.
57. Disingenuous, artful. You want a word that means "not as naïve as one pretends." Disingenuous mean precisely
that, and one meaning of artful is "deceptive." This sentence is difficult because the word impressed is used to refer
to making an impression in a negative way. Finally, culpable means "guilty" and is an attractive trap, but goes further
than the clues in the sentence allow you. The clues clearly indicate that you need words that mean "not naïve."
58. Delineate, stipulate. A realistic understanding of the "boons and perils," or advantages and disadvantages, of the
new drug requires that people know when they should and should not use it. In other words, the "contexts and
symptoms" that are appropriate for taking the drug should be delineated or stipulated, both of which mean
"described" or "specified."
59. Flagitious, heinous. First, you read that in the view of the commanding British officer, Adams and Hancock had
committed "offenses," so you might anticipate a word like offensive. Second, they were the only rebels whom he
would not pardon or forgive, so he considered their behavior "unpardonable, unforgivable." If you put these all
together we'll get something like "unforgivably offensive." Both flagitious and heinous match this meaning. Boorish
means something like "crude," but is much too weak a word to fit this sentence.
60. Naïve, callow. Otherwise suggests that Gottlieb did not find Steinbeck's political views admirable. "Adolescent
disaffection" suggests that he found Steinbeck's views in some sense immature, so look for negative words that mean
something like "immature." Naïve and callow are the best options. Perspicacious and keen both suggest insight,
nearly opposite of what we've anticipated. Contemptible is negative, but with no suggestion of immaturity — make
sure to use the clues provided without adding your own ideas. (Note that naïve is sometimes written with
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