After each sentence, select the word which best fills in the blank left in that sentence. When you're done, click on "Submit Application" at the bottom of the test, and the computer will grade your answers. A definition of the preferred word will also appear whether you got the answer right or not. 1. The pirates ___________ their swords and demanded that the captain split the booty evenly among them. A. bilked B. brandished C. augmented D. loathed 2. The students' __________ attitude toward the assignment astonished the librarian. He knew they wouldn't finish their work on time. A. dilatory B. salubrious C. ingratiating D. dogmatic 3. Carlos's ____________ approach to his college education meant that he had many false starts and had to start over again. A. desperate B. bodacious C. droll D. desultory 4. The __________ in Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath stirs our pity for the economically oppressed and unlucky farmers. A. pertinacity B. pathos C. serenity D. prevarication 5. Nigerians seem to have a natural ____________ to excel in long-distance running; in fact, their success demands years of hard work. A. absolution B. guile C. proclivity D. atrophy 6. The English Department was upset when the History Department offered a writing course, which the English profs regarded as their _____________ . A. bailiwick B. bodega C. turpitude D. oubliette 7. Geezer had no ______________ about going into the principal to tell her what he thought. A. juxtaposition B. lampoon C. facade D. compunction 8. The basketball star's ___________ gestures to give back to his community were praised by sportswriters everywhere. A. laconic B. laudable C. salacious D. rancid 9. Turgeweed's offenses against the old women in the retirement community were the most ____________ crimes the detectives could remember. A. heinous B. decorous C. coherent D. abstruse 10. The river continued to rise, but the sunshine breaking through the clouds ___________ our fears. A. accrued B. bowdlerized C. allayed D. exacerbated 11. Students got together in a/an _____________, secretly conspiring to get rid of their instructor. A. omnibus B. honorary C. autoclave D. conclave 12. The man's arms were so ____________ that he could hardly wear shirts with sleeves. A. hirsute B. antiseptic C. omnivorous D. copasetic 13. The __________ effects of sugar on one's teeth is especially dangerous in one's youth. A. pervasive B. pernicious C. raucous D. mordant 14. Dogbody's _____________ criticism of our government's mishandling of funds laid the groundwork for reform. A. odious B. infirm C. salient D. trenchant 15. Gesualdo's speech was nearly as ___________ as his fat little body. A. egregious B. rotund C. dubious D. salubrious
1. The pirates ___________ their swords and demanded that the captain split the booty evenly among them. A. bilked B. brandished C. augmented D. loathed
2. The students' __________ attitude toward the assignment astonished the librarian. He knew they wouldn't finish their work on time. A. dilatory B. salubrious C. ingratiating D. dogmatic
3. Carlos's ____________ approach to his college education meant that he had many false starts and had to start over again. A. desperate B. bodacious C. droll D. desultory
4. The __________ in Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath stirs our pity for the economically oppressed and unlucky farmers. A. pertinacity B. pathos C. serenity D. prevarication
5. Nigerians seem to have a natural ____________ to excel in long-distance running; in fact, their success demands years of hard work. A. absolution B. guile C. proclivity D. atrophy
6. The English Department was upset when the History Department offered a writing course, which the English profs regarded as their _____________ . A. bailiwick B. bodega C. turpitude D. oubliette
7. Geezer had no ______________ about going into the principal to tell her what he thought. A. juxtaposition B. lampoon C. facade D. compunction
8. The basketball star's ___________ gestures to give back to his community were praised by sportswriters everywhere. A. laconic B. laudable C. salacious D. rancid
9. Turgeweed's offenses against the old women in the retirement community were the most ____________ crimes the detectives could remember. A. heinous B. decorous C. coherent D. abstruse
10. The river continued to rise, but the sunshine breaking through the clouds ___________ our fears. A. accrued B. bowdlerized C. allayed D. exacerbated
11. Students got together in a/an _____________, secretly conspiring to get rid of their instructor. A. omnibus B. honorary C. autoclave D. conclave
12. The man's arms were so ____________ that he could hardly wear shirts with sleeves. A. hirsute B. antiseptic C. omnivorous D. copasetic
13. The __________ effects of sugar on one's teeth is especially dangerous in one's youth. A. pervasive B. pernicious C. raucous D. mordant
14. Dogbody's _____________ criticism of our government's mishandling of funds laid the groundwork for reform. A. odious B. infirm C. salient D. trenchant
15. Gesualdo's speech was nearly as ___________ as his fat little body. A. egregious B. rotund C. dubious D. salubrious
Vocabulary Building Quiz List Guide to Grammar and Writing
Quiz List
Guide to Grammar and Writing
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Vocabulary Building