GRE

Sentence Completion
Workbook

Sentence Completion- Questions I

1. Complete the sentences using a word from the options given below, that best suits the
sentence-
1. With his sub-four minute mile Banister broke a psychological barrier, and inspired thousands
of others to attempt to overcome seemingly ____ hurdles.
A. insurmountable
B. inane
C. trivial
D. traumatic
E. ineffable
Answer: a

2. Ricks has written extensively not only on the poetry of such (i)____ figures in English poetry
as Milton and Housman, but also on the less obviously (ii)____ lyrics of Bob Dylan.
Blank (i)
A. obscurantist
B. arcane
C. established
Blank (ii)
D. canonical
E. popular
F. judicious
Answer: C, D

3. People who seek advice from (i) ____ often find that what they are told can seem true,
because these seekers of information attribute significance to some predictions and ignore
others. The mind seeks to make sense of predictions that, in themselves, have no (ii) ____ value,
and thus it becomes difficult to prove that the forecasts are (iii) ____.
Blank (i)
A. experts
B. philosophers
C. clairvoyants
Blank (ii)
D. special
E. general
F. legal
Blank (iii)
G. genuine
H. specious
I. accurate
Answer: C,D, H

4. Stress-induced amnesia is a rare and (i)____ phenomenon; it strikes the patient apparently
without warning and the memory loss can be as (i)____ as that induced by (iii)____ trauma.
Blank (i)
A. devastating
B. venial
C. pervasive
Blank (ii)
D. generic
E. limited
F. complete
Blank (iii)
G. unexpected
H. mental
I. physical
Answer: A, F, I

5. The publishers, unwilling to (i)____ the entire risk, insisted that the author pay half the cost
of the initial print run of his (ii)____ new book.
Blank (i)
A. hedge
B. shoulder
C. mitigate
Blank (ii)
D. unexceptionable
E. controversial
F. jaundiced
Answer: B, E

6. Science advances (i)____ as (ii)____ change abruptly and we are forced to stop and reorient
ourselves to view old information in new ways.
Blank (i)
A. exponentially
B. inexorably
C. jerkily
Blank (ii)
D. paradigms
E. axioms
F. continuities
Answer: C, D
7. The game of chess is an example of a ___ information system: the pieces sit inertly on the
board until the players move them according to known rules.
A. interactive
B. passive
C. cybernetic
D. disruptive
E. logistic
Answer: B

8. A highly intelligent person often thinks (i)____; a few snippets of information can trigger a
(ii)____ conclusion that might not stand up to closer, and (iii)____, scrutiny.
Blank (i)
A. too deeply
B. too warily
C. too quickly
Blank (ii)
D. firm
E. labored
F. hasty
Blank (iii)
G. slower
H. precipitous
I. overt
Answer: C, F, G

9. Major philosophical (i)____ about morality, identity and rationality, for example, can often be
(ii)____ by thought experiments: short and simple expositions that pose an abstract and
complex problem in a concrete manner with all the (iii)____ factors removed.
Blank (i)
A. certitudes
B. dilemmas
C. dogmas
Blank (ii)
D. mimicked
E. illuminated
F. evoked
Blank (iii)
G. extraneous
H. inherent
I. pivotal
Answer: B, E, G
10. All good comic writers use humor to ____, not to side-step the problems of human behavior.
A. amuse
B. avert
C. juxtapose
D. confront
E. solve
Answer: D

Sentence Completion- Questions II

Complete the sentences using a word from the options given below, that best suits the
sentence-
1. The success of the business venture ____ his expectations; he never thought that the firm
would prosper.
A. confirmed
B. belied
C. nullified
D. fulfilled
E. ratified
Answer: B

2. The journalist (i)____ the efforts of the drug squad to control drug peddling, claiming that
they had actually (ii)____ the problem.
Blank (i)
A. commended
B. deprecated
C. noted
Blank (ii)
D. delineated
E. mollified
F. exacerbated
Answer: B, F

3. Since the Romans failed to subjugate the tribes in Northern Britain, they built a wall in a
(i)____ attempt to (ii)____ the natives. After all, what wall can (iii)____ the determined?
Blank (i)
A. seemingly over optimistic
B. thoroughgoing
C. successful
Blank (ii)
D. intimidate
E. exclude
F. barricade
Blank (iii)
G. deter
H. conquer
I. circumscribe
Answer: A, E, G

4. The professor became increasingly ____ in later years, flying into a rage whenever he was
opposed.
A. taciturn
B. voluble
C. subdued
D. contrite
E. irascible
Answer: E

5. To Simon, not usually so (i)____, their bantering talk seemed (ii)____. Actually their
exchanges masked underlying (iii)____.
Blank (i)
A. inscrutable
B. unperceptive
C. perspicacious
Blank (ii)
D. amicable
E. exasperating
F. hostile
Blank (iii)
G. antagonism
H. assumptions
I. geniality
Answer: B, D, G

6. The new systematic nomenclature was so (i)____ that many chemists preferred to (ii)____
the older trivial names that were at least shorter. At least, that is the ostensible reason. Actually,
tradition seems to carry more weight than (iii)____ with some scientists.
Blank (i)
A. succinct
B. cumbersome
C. irrational
Blank (ii)
D. revert to
E. adopt
F. suspend
Blank (iii)
G. chronology
H. longevity
I. system
Answer: B, D, I

7. Even though the auditors (i)____ the accountant, his reputation, hitherto unblemished, was
(ii)____ by the allegations of fraud.
Blank (i)
A. indicted
B. betrayed
C. vindicated
Blank (ii)
D. enhanced
E. tarnished
F. condoned
Answer: C, E

8. Many so-called social playwrights are distinctly ____ ; rather than allowing the members of
the audience to form their own opinions, these writers force a viewpoint on the viewer.
A. conciliatory
B. prolific
C. iconoclastic
D. didactic
E. contumacious
Answer: D

9. The archaeologist, viewing the fragmentary remains of the ancient city, reflected on the
(i)____ of humans (ii)____ .
Blank (i)
A. impermanence
B. dearth
C. durability
Blank (ii)
D. endeavor
E. thought
F. humility
Answer: A, D
10. He was normally entirely (i)____ , but in the embarrassing situation in which he found
himself he felt compelled to (ii)____.
Blank (i)
A. equable
B. considerate
C. forthright
Blank (ii)
D. concede
E. prevaricate
F. capitulate
Answer: C, E