Every practice question
The whole bank, with the answer and the reason each distractor fails.
20 questions, with answers shown. To be quizzed instead — start a session.
core · science
The connection between the two findings was ____; a single contradictory result would have dissolved it.
- tenuousanswer
- robust
- reciprocal
- empirical
Why it fits: The second clause says one contradiction would destroy the connection, so the connection must be weak and barely holding.
Why each wrong option is tempting
- robust — "Robust" means strong enough to survive challenge — the opposite of what the second clause describes.
- reciprocal — "Reciprocal" describes a two-way relationship, which says nothing about how fragile it is.
- empirical — "Empirical" means based on observation. It might be true of the finding, but it does not describe fragility.
core · social-science
The policy was ____ designed to reduce congestion, though its authors privately conceded it would do little.
- ostensiblyanswer
- demonstrably
- inadvertently
- comprehensively
Why it fits: "Though its authors privately conceded" sets up a contrast between the stated purpose and the real one, which is exactly what "ostensibly" marks.
Why each wrong option is tempting
- demonstrably — "Demonstrably" claims the effect was proven — the sentence says the opposite.
- inadvertently — "Inadvertently" means by accident, but the policy was deliberately designed.
- comprehensively — "Comprehensively" describes how thoroughly something was done, not the gap between claim and reality.
core · humanities
Early accounts treated the migration as a single event; more recent scholarship offers a ____ picture of several overlapping movements.
- nuancedanswer
- cursory
- derivative
- polemical
Why it fits: The contrast is between one simple event and several overlapping ones, so the newer picture is more finely distinguished.
Why each wrong option is tempting
- cursory — "Cursory" means hasty and shallow, which would make the newer account simpler, not more detailed.
- derivative — "Derivative" means copied from earlier work — the sentence presents the new scholarship as an advance.
- polemical — "Polemical" means aggressively argumentative, which the sentence gives no evidence for.
foundation · science
The second team repeated the experiment in order to ____ the original result before publication.
- corroborateanswer
- contest
- circumvent
- extrapolate
Why it fits: Repeating an experiment before publishing is done to confirm the finding with independent evidence.
Why each wrong option is tempting
- contest — "Contest" means to dispute. Nothing suggests the second team set out to disagree.
- circumvent — "Circumvent" means to get around something, which does not apply to a result.
- extrapolate — "Extrapolate" means to extend a finding beyond the observed range — that is a different activity from confirming it.
core · social-science
The committee insisted the cut-off was principled, but it could not explain why the threshold fell at that figure rather than any other, which made it look ____.
- arbitraryanswer
- stringent
- provisional
- unanimous
Why it fits: Being unable to justify why the number is that number and not another is precisely what makes a choice arbitrary.
Why each wrong option is tempting
- stringent — "Stringent" means strict. A threshold can be strict and still be well justified, so it does not follow from the sentence.
- provisional — "Provisional" means temporary. The sentence is about justification, not duration.
- unanimous — "Unanimous" describes agreement among people, not the basis for a number.
foundation · science
Her field notes were ____: every specimen was logged with its location, the weather, and the hour it was found.
- meticulousanswer
- perfunctory
- anecdotal
- ambivalent
Why it fits: The colon introduces evidence of extreme care and completeness, which is what "meticulous" names.
Why each wrong option is tempting
- perfunctory — "Perfunctory" means done with minimum effort — the opposite of the detail listed.
- anecdotal — "Anecdotal" means based on informal stories rather than systematic record, which contradicts the careful logging.
- ambivalent — "Ambivalent" describes mixed feelings, not a quality of notes.
core · humanities
The newly dated sediment layers ____ the accepted timeline, pushing the settlement back by two centuries.
- undermineanswer
- reinforce
- reiterate
- delineate
Why it fits: Moving the date by two centuries contradicts the accepted timeline, weakening the case for it.
Why each wrong option is tempting
- reinforce — "Reinforce" would mean the new dates supported the old timeline, but they change it substantially.
- reiterate — "Reiterate" means to repeat, which new contradicting evidence does not do.
- delineate — "Delineate" means to describe precisely. The layers do more than describe — they overturn.
foundation · science
Neither explanation has been confirmed, but both remain ____ given what is currently known.
- plausibleanswer
- verified
- untenable
- redundant
Why it fits: Unconfirmed but still worth entertaining is exactly the space "plausible" occupies.
Why each wrong option is tempting
- verified — "Verified" means confirmed, which the first clause explicitly denies.
- untenable — "Untenable" means impossible to defend — but the sentence says both survive.
- redundant — "Redundant" means unnecessarily repetitive, which does not follow from being unconfirmed.
stretch · science
Researchers were careful not to ____ the decline to a single cause, since three pressures acted at once.
- attributeanswer
- ascribe wholly
- quantify
- anticipate
Why it fits: To attribute is to assign a cause, and the sentence warns against assigning the decline to one cause when three were acting.
Why each wrong option is tempting
- ascribe wholly — "Ascribe wholly" is close in meaning but reads awkwardly here; the standard verb for assigning a cause is "attribute", and the sentence already supplies "to a single cause".
- quantify — "Quantify" means to measure, which is not what the caution is about.
- anticipate — "Anticipate" means to expect in advance, and the decline has already happened.
core · literature
The memoir is unusually ____ about the author’s own missteps, naming decisions most writers would quietly omit.
- candidanswer
- evasive
- laudatory
- derivative
Why it fits: Naming your own mistakes when others would hide them is frankness about oneself.
Why each wrong option is tempting
- evasive — "Evasive" means avoiding the subject, which is the behaviour the sentence contrasts against.
- laudatory — "Laudatory" means full of praise, but the subject here is the author’s own errors.
- derivative — "Derivative" means unoriginal, which is unrelated to honesty.
core · social-science
Funding for the second phase is ____ on the pilot meeting its enrolment target.
- contingentanswer
- incidental
- tantamount
- impervious
Why it fits: The funding depends on a condition being met, which is what "contingent on" states.
Why each wrong option is tempting
- incidental — "Incidental" means minor or occurring by chance, the opposite of a governing condition.
- tantamount — "Tantamount" means equivalent to, which does not fit a dependency.
- impervious — "Impervious" means unaffected by, which reverses the relationship.
foundation · science
Once the predator was removed, the smaller fish began to ____, doubling in number each season.
- proliferateanswer
- diminish
- stagnate
- migrate
Why it fits: Doubling each season is rapid increase in number, which is what proliferate means.
Why each wrong option is tempting
- diminish — "Diminish" means to decrease, contradicting the doubling.
- stagnate — "Stagnate" means to stop changing, which the numbers clearly do not.
- migrate — "Migrate" means to move location, and the sentence describes quantity, not movement.
core · social-science
Even the study’s critics ____ that its sample was larger than any collected before.
- concedeanswer
- contend
- contest
- construe
Why it fits: "Even the critics" signals that they are admitting something that does not help their case.
Why each wrong option is tempting
- contend — "Contend" means to argue for, but critics arguing for the study’s strength would not need "even".
- contest — "Contest" means to dispute, which contradicts the "even the critics" framing.
- construe — "Construe" means to interpret, which does not capture the admission.
foundation · science
The material is now so ____ that it turns up in soil samples from the deep ocean to the high Arctic.
- ubiquitousanswer
- volatile
- inert
- scarce
Why it fits: Appearing everywhere from the deep ocean to the Arctic is the definition of being present everywhere.
Why each wrong option is tempting
- volatile — "Volatile" means unstable or evaporating easily, which is about behaviour, not distribution.
- inert — "Inert" means chemically unreactive — again a property, not a matter of where it is found.
- scarce — "Scarce" means rare, contradicting the range described.
core · humanities
Her ____ question exposed the assumption the whole argument had been resting on.
- incisiveanswer
- rambling
- tentative
- rhetorical
Why it fits: A question that cuts straight to a hidden assumption is sharp and penetrating.
Why each wrong option is tempting
- rambling — "Rambling" means unfocused, which could not expose a precise assumption.
- tentative — "Tentative" means hesitant, at odds with decisively exposing something.
- rhetorical — "Rhetorical" means asked for effect without expecting an answer — but this question did real work.
core · science
The technique is not wrong, merely ____: faster methods have replaced it entirely in modern labs.
- obsoleteanswer
- erroneous
- nascent
- contentious
Why it fits: "Not wrong, merely —" plus "replaced entirely" points to something superseded rather than mistaken.
Why each wrong option is tempting
- erroneous — "Erroneous" means wrong, which the sentence explicitly rules out.
- nascent — "Nascent" means just emerging, the opposite of superseded.
- contentious — "Contentious" means disputed, but nothing suggests disagreement.
foundation · science
Given the rate of erosion, the collapse of the arch was ____; the only question was when.
- inevitableanswer
- improbable
- reversible
- imperceptible
Why it fits: "The only question was when" means the event itself is certain, only its timing is open.
Why each wrong option is tempting
- improbable — "Improbable" means unlikely, contradicting the certainty.
- reversible — "Reversible" means able to be undone, which the sentence does not address.
- imperceptible — "Imperceptible" means too small to notice, but a collapse is the opposite.
stretch · literature
Ordinarily talkative, he became ____ whenever the subject of the trial came up.
- reticentanswer
- voluble
- irate
- jovial
Why it fits: "Ordinarily talkative" sets up a contrast, so the word must mean unwilling to speak.
Why each wrong option is tempting
- voluble — "Voluble" means talkative — the same as his ordinary state, so there would be no contrast.
- irate — "Irate" means angry, which is a plausible reaction but not what the contrast with talkativeness demands.
- jovial — "Jovial" means cheerful, which does not contrast with being talkative at all.
stretch · social-science
The new protocol does not guarantee agreement; it merely ____ the conversation between the two parties.
- facilitatesanswer
- mandates
- obviates
- adjudicates
Why it fits: "Does not guarantee ... merely" indicates the protocol makes the conversation easier without forcing an outcome.
Why each wrong option is tempting
- mandates — "Mandates" means requires, which is stronger than the sentence allows.
- obviates — "Obviates" means makes unnecessary, but the conversation still happens.
- adjudicates — "Adjudicates" means judges and decides, which contradicts not guaranteeing agreement.
core · science
One reading was ____ — nearly triple the others — so the team checked the instrument before accepting it.
- anomalousanswer
- representative
- negligible
- consistent
Why it fits: A value that departs sharply from the rest is an anomaly, which is why they suspected the instrument.
Why each wrong option is tempting
- representative — "Representative" would mean typical of the set, but this reading is nearly triple the others.
- negligible — "Negligible" means too small to matter, whereas this one is unusually large.
- consistent — "Consistent" means in agreement with the others, which it plainly is not.
Other sets
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