TIPS FOR SENTENCE COMPLETION

1). Before You Look At The Answer-Choices, Think Of A Word That "Fits" The Sentence.

Example: Crestfallen by having done poorly on the GRE, Susan began to question her abilities. Her self-confidence was ..........

(A) appeased
(B) destroyed
(C) placated
(D) elevated
(E) sustained

If somebody is crestfallen (despairing) and has begun to question herself, then her self-confidence would be destroyed. Hence, the answer is (B).

2). Be alert to transitional words. Transitional words tell you what is coming up. They indicate that the author is now going to draw a contrast with something stated previously, or support something stated previously.

i). Contrast Indicators - To contrast two things is to point out how they differ. In this type of sentence completion problem, we look for a word that has the opposite meaning (an antonym) of some key word or phrase in the sentence.

Following are some of the most common contrast indicators:

But
Yet
Despite
Although
However
Nevertheless

Example: Although the warring parties had settled a number of disputes, past experience made them .......... to express optimism that the talks would be a success.

(A) rash
(B) ambivalent
(C) scornful
(D) overjoyed
(E) reticent

"Although" sets up a contrast between what has occurred--success on some issues--and what can be expected to occur--success for the whole talks. Hence, the parties are reluctant to express optimism. The common word "reluctant" is not offered as an answer-choice, but a synonym--reticent--is. The answer is (E).

ii). Support Indicators - Supporting words support or further explain what has already been said. These words often introduce synonyms for words elsewhere in the sentence.

Following are some common supporting words:

And
Also
Furthermore
Likewise
In Addition
For

Example: Davis is an opprobrious and .......... speaker, equally caustic toward friend or foe--a true curmudgeon.

(A) lofty
(B) vituperative
(C) unstinting
(D) retiring
(E) laudatory

"And" in the sentence indicates that the missing adjective is similar in meaning to "opprobrious," which is very negative. Now, vituperative--the only negative word--means "abusive." Hence, the answer is (B).

iii). Cause And Effect Indicators - These words indicate that one thing causes another to occur.

Some of the most common cause and effect indicators are

Because
For
Thus
Hence
Therefore
If , Then .

Example: Because the House has the votes to override a presidential veto, the President has no choice but to ..........

(A) object
(B) abdicate
(C) abstain
(D) capitulate
(E) compromise

Since the House has the votes to pass the bill or motion, the President would be wise to compromise and make the best of the situation. The answer is (E).

3). Apposition - This rather advanced grammatical structure is very common on the GRE. (Don't confuse "apposition" with "opposition": they have opposite meanings.)

Words or phrases in apposition are placed next to each other, and the second word or phrase defines, clarifies, or gives evidence to the first word or phrase.

The second word or phrase will be set off from the first by a comma, semicolon, hyphen, or parentheses.

Note: If a comma is not followed by a linking word--such as and, for, yet--then the following phrase is probably appositional.

Identifying an appositional structure, can greatly simplify a sentence completion problem since the appositional word, phrase, or clause will define the missing word.

Example: His novels are .......... ; he uses a long circumlocution when a direct coupling of a simple subject and verb would be best.

(A) prolix
(B) pedestrian
(C) succinct
(D) vapid
(E) risque

The sentence has no linking words (such as because, although, etc.). Hence, the phrase following the semicolon is in apposition to the missing word--it defines or further clarifies the missing word. Now, writing filled with circumlocutions is aptly described as prolix. The answer is (A).

VOCABULARY 3

1. Skimpy - Inadequate, as in size or fullness, especially through economizing or stinting; containing little excess; sparse, inadequate
2. Friable - Readily crumbled; brittle; fragile; easily damaged; easily crumbled or broken up; easily reduced to powder or easily pulverized
3. Brittle - Easily broken or damaged; fragile; tense; difficult to deal with; snappish; perishable; confection of caramelized sugar to which nuts are added
4. Oblivious - Lacking all memory; forgetful; lacking conscious awareness; unmindful; unable to remember; unaware, ignorant
5. Erudite - Having or showing profound knowledge and scholarship; well-educated, cultured; very learned
6. Bilious - Bitterness of temper; ill humor; irascibility; bitter, alkaline, brownish-yellow or greenish-yellow fluid that is secreted by the liver, stored in the gallbladder, and discharged into the duodenum and aids in the emulsification, digestion, and absorption of fats; Either of two bodily humors, black bile or yellow bile, in ancient and medieval physiology
7. Absolve - To pronounce clear of guilt or blame; relieve of a requirement or obligation; grant a remission of sin to; free from a charge or imputation of guilt; free from responsibility or duty; to say that a person is not to be blamed or is free of sin
8. Earshot - The range within which sound can be heard by the unaided ear; hearing distance; range of audibility; the range within which a voice can be heard
9. Prig - A person who demonstrates an exaggerated conformity or propriety, especially in an irritatingly arrogant or smug manner; petty thief or pickpocket; conceited dandy; a fop; steal or pilfer; self-righteous; a person regarded as arrogant and annoying
10. Straddling - To stand or sit with a leg on each side of; bestride; be on both sides of; extend over or across; fire shots behind and in front of (a target) in order to determine the range; equivocal or a noncommittal position; option to buy or sell a specific asset, such as a block of stock, at a predetermined price before a certain date; spread out in a disorderly way; sprawl; appear to favor both sides of an issue; applied to spokes when they are arranged alternately in two circles in the hub
11. Adroit - Dexterous; deft; skillful and adept under pressing conditions; very able or skilled; lively
12. Deft - Quick and skillful; adroit; agile, clever; quick and neat in action; skillful
13. Court - An area partially or entirely enclosed by walls or buildings; a judicial assembly; behave so as to bring on (danger, for example); attempt to gain the affection of; fawn over, pay attention to; body of directors of an organization, especially of a corporation
14. Rambunctious - Boisterous and disorderly; loud, energetic; noisy and lacking in restraint or discipline
15. Afflatus - A strong creative impulse, especially as a result of divine inspiration; divine guidance and motivation imparted directly; a creative impulse, an inspiration
16. Snarl - A tangle of hairs, thread or traffic; an angry growl; complication, mess; complicate, mess up; grumble; speak angrily or threateningly
17. Inquiline - An animal that characteristically lives commensally in the nest, burrow, or dwelling place of an animal of another species; being or living as an inquiline
18. Incisal - Of, relating to, or being the cutting edge of an incisor or canine tooth
19. Sly - Clever or cunning, especially in the practice of deceit; clever, devious; untrustworthy
20. Vexatious - Causing or creating vexation; annoying; legal action instituted on insufficient grounds and brought solely to annoy the defendant; distressing, bothersome; harassed
21. Gripe - To complain naggingly or petulantly; grumble; pain, annoy; secure (a boat) with gripes
22. Chrome - A hard silver metal that does not easily rust; tan or dye with a chromium compound
23. Exhorted - To urge by strong, often stirring argument, admonition, advice, or appeal; make urgent appeal; try to influence by words or advice
24. Extant - Still in existence; not destroyed, lost, or extinct; standing out; projecting; in existence; occurring or existing in act or fact: actual
25. Intermittent - Stopping and starting at intervals; alternately containing and empty of water; irregular, sporadic; happening or appearing now and then
26. Fathomable - Capable of being readily understood; of depth; capable of being sounded or measured; (of meaning) capable of being penetrated or comprehended
27. Insouciant - Marked by blithe unconcern; nonchalant; easygoing, casual
28. Dire - Warning of or having dreadful or terrible consequences; calamitous; urgent; desperate; terrible, ominous; urgent; crucial
29. Luculent - Easily understood; clear or lucid; (of language) transparently clear; easily understandable
30. Hoodwink - To take in by deceptive means; deceive; trick or mislead; cause to accept what is false, especially by trickery or misrepresentation; influence by slyness; conceal one's true motives from esp. by elaborately feigning good intentions so as to gain an end
31. Callous - Emotionally hardened; unfeeling; having calluses; toughened; completely lacking in compassion; cruel, insensitive; without regard for the feelings or sufferings of others
32. Feisty - Touchy; quarrelsome; full of spirit or pluck; frisky or spunky; showing courage; irritable and looking for trouble
33. Reticent - Inclined to keep one's thoughts, feelings, and personal affairs to oneself; restrained or reserved in style; reluctant; unwilling; secretive, quiet; reserved; quiet; not saying much, especially about one's thoughts
34. Ossified - Changed to bone or something resembling bone; hardened by deposits of mineral matter of any kind; -- said of tissues; rigid, unimaginative convention; process of becoming set in a rigidly conventional pattern, as of behavior, habits, or beliefs
35. Sybarite - A person devoted to pleasure and luxury; a voluptuary; native or inhabitant of Sybaris; a person addicted to luxury and pleasures of the senses
36. Fecund - Capable of producing offspring or vegetation; fruitful; mentally active or productive
37. Harangue - A long pompous speech, especially one delivered before a gathering; speech or piece of writing characterized by strong feeling or expression; a tirade; long, violent, or blustering speech, usually of censure or denunciation; speak in a loud, pompous, or prolonged manner; lecture; long passionate speech
38. Thwart - To prevent the occurrence, realization, or attainment of; oppose and defeat the efforts, plans, or ambitions of; seat across a boat on which a rower may sit; prevent from accomplishing a purpose; stop, hinder; obstruct
39. Swarthy - Having a dark complexion or color; of a complexion tending toward brown or black; dark-complexioned
40.Miff - A petulant, bad-tempered mood; a huff; petty quarrel or argument; a tiff; cause to become offended or annoyed; annoy, bewilder; a state of irritation or annoyance; extreme displeasure caused by an insult or slight
41. Shard - A piece of broken pottery, especially one found in an archaeological dig;; fragment of a brittle substance, as of glass or metal; tough sheath or covering, such as a shell, scale, or plate; piece of a broken pot or ceramic or glass vessel; residual matter
42. Dirge - A funeral hymn or lament; slow, mournful musical composition; song of mourning
43. Inert - Unable to move or act; not moving; lifeless; not readily reactive with other elements; forming few or no chemical compounds; without the ability to act, move, change, or resist
44. Havoc - Widespread destruction; devastation; disorder or chaos; chaotic situation; great damage or destruction; rob of goods by force, especially in time of war
45. Trespass - Unlawful entry or possession of property; invasion, offense; infringe, offend; enter forcibly or illegally: break in; violate a moral or divine law
46. Gossamer - So light and insubstantial as to resemble air or a thin film; gauzy, thin; soft light delicate material
47. Cameo - To make into or like a gem or shell carved in relief; to portray in sharp, delicate relief, as in a literary composition
48. Skirt - The periphery of a city or town; border, edge; avoid; get around; be on the edge; avoid fulfilling or answering completely; garment hanging from the waist and worn by women and girls; lower outer section of a rocket vehicle; flexible strip hanging from the base of an air-cushion vehicle; piece of fabric that extends over or beyond something to afford protection
49. Pusillanimous - Lacking courage; cowardly; without spirit or bravery
50. Lax - Lacking in rigor, strictness, or firmness; not taut, firm, or compact; slack; not strict
51. Remonstrance - An expression of protest, complaint, or reproof, especially a formal statement of grievances; the act of expressing earnest opposition or protest
52. Incantation - Ritual recitation of verbal charms or spells to produce a magic effect; conventionalized utterance repeated without thought or aptness; a formula; charms spoken or sung as part of a ritual
53. Oblivious - Lacking all memory; forgetful; lacking conscious awareness; unmindful; unable to remember; unaware, ignorant
54. Absolve - To pronounce clear of guilt or blame; relieve of a requirement or obligation; grant a remission of sin to; free from a charge or imputation of guilt; free from responsibility or duty; to say that a person is not to be blamed or is free of sin
55. Inert - Unable to move or act; not moving; lifeless; not readily reactive with other elements; forming few or no chemical compounds; without the ability to act, move, change, or resist
56. Gregarious - Seeking and enjoying the company of others; sociable;polite, easygoing, and friendly
57. Jest - To joke about; make jokes; behave playfully; object of amusement or laughter; words or actions intended to excite laughter or amusement; playful or amusing act; a prank; frolicsome or frivolous mood; object of ridicule; a laughingstock; witty remark; utter scoffs; gibe
58. Innocuous - Having no adverse effect; harmless; not likely to offend or provoke to strong emotion; insipid; devoid of hurtful qualities; lacking the qualities requisite for spiritedness and originality
59. Tether - To fasten something with a line or rope; extent or limit of one's resources, abilities, or endurance; rope, chain, or similar restraint for holding one, especially an animal, in place, allowing a short radius in which one can move about
60. Evince - To show or demonstrate clearly; manifest; reveal; show clearly or to indicate
61. Wallow - An indolent or clumsy rolling about; take extravagant pleasure; move about in an indolent or clumsy manner; condition of degradation or baseness; roll the body about indolently or clumsily in or as if in water, snow, or mud; be plentifully supplied; swell or surge forth; billow
62. Dally - To treat lightly or flippantly; dawdle, delay; deal with or treat in a half serious or playful way
63. Mope - To be gloomy or dejected; brood or sulk; move in a leisurely or aimless manner; dawdle; feeling or spell of dismally low spirits; pout
64. Dawdle - To take more time than necessary; move aimlessly or lackadaisically; waste (time) by idling; delay; waste time; take one's time; proceed slowly; hang (back) or fall (behind) in movement, progress, development, etc
65. Symbiosis - A relationship of mutual benefit or dependence; close, prolonged association between two or more different organisms of different species that may, but does not necessarily, benefit each member
66. Reticent - Inclined to keep one's thoughts, feelings, and personal affairs to oneself; restrained or reserved in style; reluctant; unwilling; secretive, quiet; reserved; quiet; not saying much, especially about one's thoughts
67. Fatuous - The quality or condition of being stupid; stupid act, remark, or idea; foolishness; lack of intelligence; a poor ability to understand or to profit from experience; a stupid mistake
68. Effrontery - Brazen boldness; presumptuousness; state or quality of being impudent or arrogantly self-confident; nerve, boldness; impudence; arrogance
69. Recommit - To refer (proposed legislation, for example) to a committee again; commit again
70. Exodus - A departure from a place or country, especially of many people; act of leaving; departure from one's native land to settle in another
71. Suppliant - Asking humbly and earnestly; beseeching; one praying humbly for something
72. Jarring - Disagreeable to the sense of hearing; making or causing a harsh and irritating sound; characterized by rough motion
73. Evasive - Intentionally vague or ambiguous; equivocal; inclined or intended to evade; deceitful, tricky; trying to avoid; skillful at eluding capture
74. Irrevocable - Impossible to retract or revoke; fixed, unchangeable
75. Rescind - To make void; repeal or annul; declare void; take back or remove
76. Abet - To approve, encourage, and support (an action or a plan of action); urge and help on; assist, help in wrongdoing; actively encourage or aid (an offense)
77. Impugn - To attack as false or questionable; challenge in argument; criticize, challenge
78. Egalitarian - Affirming, promoting, or characterized by belief in equal political, economic, social, and civil rights for all people
79. Ostentatious - Marked by outward, often extravagant display; flashy, showy; overly showy to attract attention; pretentious
80. Distend - To swell out or expand from or as if from internal pressure; cause to expand by or as if by internal pressure; dilate; to extend; bulge, swell
81. Imminent - About to occur; impending; at hand, on the way; expected to happen soon
82. Equivocation - Intentionally vague or ambiguous; falsification by means of vague or ambiguous language; a statement that is not literally false but that cleverly avoids an unpleasant truth; expression or term liable to more than one interpretation; use or an instance of equivocal language
83. Lambaste - To give a thrashing to; beat; scold sharply; berate; punish, beat with a cane; censure severely or angrily
84. Exodus - A departure from a place or country, especially of many people; act of leaving; departure from one's native land to settle in another
85. Vim - Ebullient vitality and energy; lively, emphatic, eager quality or manner; quality of active mental and physical forcefulness
86. Fawn - To seek favor or attention by flattery and obsequious behavior; to support slavishly every opinion or suggestion of a superior; a young deer, less than one year old; a grayish yellow-brown to moderate reddish brown
87. Obsequious - Full of or exhibiting servile compliance; fawning; excessively eager to serve or obey; groveling, submissive; too ready to serve
88. Condolence - Sympathy with a person who has experienced pain, grief, or misfortune; expression of sorrow or sympathy
89. Pretentious - Claiming or demanding a position of distinction or merit, especially when unjustified, snobbish, conceited; trying to seem more important or valuable than is true
90. Intransigence - The quality or state of being stubbornly inflexible; the trait of being intransigent; stubbornly refusing to compromise
91. Brook - To put up with; tolerate; a tiny stream of water
92. Contumacious - Obstinately disobedient or rebellious; insubordinate; marked by defiance; headstrong, obstinate; stubbornly disobedient, rebellious
93. Cosseted - To pamper; pet, especially a pet lamb; treat with excessive indulgence; to treat with too much kindness
94. Stupefy - To dull the senses or faculties of; amaze; astonish; make dull or stupid; to muddle with drunkenness or infatuation; be a mystery or bewildering to; make senseless or dizzy by or as if by a blow
95. Faculty - One of the inherent cognitive or perceptual powers of the mind; ability, skill; body of teachers and administrators at a school
96. Recalcitrant - Marked by stubborn resistance to and defiance of authority or guidance; disobedient, uncontrollable; stubbornly defiant of authority; unruly
97. Incorruptible - Incapable of being morally corrupted; honest, honorable
98. Sop - To dip, soak, or drench in a liquid; saturate; piece of solid food for dipping in a liquid; a concession given to mollify or placate; give a conciliatory gift or bribe to; be or become thoroughly soaked or saturated with a liquid; mop so as to leave a semi-dry surface, of floors; something yielded to placate or soothe
99. Pontific - Relating to, or consisting of, pontiffs or priests; pertaining to the pope
100. Pontiff - The pope; a bishop; the head of the Roman Catholic Church
101. Hodgepodge - A mixture of dissimilar ingredients; a jumble; mixture, mess; a theory or argument made up of miscellaneous or incongruous ideas; collection of various things
102. Labyrinthine - Difficult to understand because of intricacy; of, relating to, resembling, or constituting a labyrinth; complicated.
103. Hamstring - To restrict the activity or free movement of; handicap; to destroy or hinder the efficiency of; frustrate; any of the tendons at the rear hollow of the human knee
104. Egregious - Conspicuously bad or offensive; outstandingly bad; outrageous
105. Glean - To gather grain left behind by reapers; to collect (something) bit by bit; gather facts in small quantities
106. Animadversion - Strong criticism; a critical or censorious remark; harsh criticism or disapproval
107. Ballon - To curve outward past the normal or usual limit; stand out, stick out; increase rapidly; swell; a rounded or irregularly shaped outline containing the words that a character in a cartoon is represented to be saying; a flexible bag designed to be inflated with hot air or with a gas, such as helium, that is lighter than the surrounding air, causing it to rise and float in the atmosphere
108. Transience - The state or quality of being transient; temporariness; an impermanence that suggests the inevitability of ending or dying; the attribute of being brief or fleeting
109. Evanescent - Lasting or existing only for a short time
110. Repudiate - To refuse to recognize or acknowledge; reject; turn one's back on; disown
111. Stricture - A restraint, limit, or restriction; adverse remark or criticism; censure; abnormal narrowing of a duct or passage; constraint; criticism
112. Extort - To obtain from another by coercion or intimidation; get or cause to become in a difficult or laborious manner
113. Mournful - Feeling or expressing sorrow or grief; sorrowful; causing or suggesting sadness or melancholy; sad; filled with or evoking sadness
114. Appendix - A collection of supplementary material, usually at the end of a book; an appendage; supplementary or accessory part of a bodily organ or structure
115. Obsequy - A funeral rite or ceremony
116. Augment - To make (something already developed or well under way) greater, as in size, extent, or quantity; make greater; improve; enlarge or make bigger
117. Nuance - A subtle or slight degree of difference, as in meaning, feeling, or tone; a gradation; expression or appreciation of subtle shades of meaning, feeling, or tone; slight difference; shading; slight variation between nearly identical entities
118. Truss - A supportive device, usually a pad with a belt, worn to prevent enlargement of a hernia or the return of a reduced hernia; rigid framework, as of wooden beams or metal bars, designed to support a structure, such as a roof; something gathered into a bundle; a pack; iron fitting by which a lower yard is secured to a mast; compact cluster of flowers at the end of a stalk; tie up or bind tightly; bind or skewer the wings or legs of (a fowl) before cooking; support or brace with a truss; tie up (someone) with their arms at their sides
119. Vacillation - The act of vacillating; a moving one way and the other; a wavering; indecision in speech or action; changing location by moving back and forth
120. Cognizant - Fully informed; conscious
121. Congenital - Of or relating to a condition that is present at birth, as a result of either heredity or environmental influences; inborn
122. Furtive - Characterized by stealth; surreptitious; slow, deliberate, and secret as to escape observation; sneaky, secretive
123. Avaricious - Immoderately desirous of wealth or gain; greedy; having a strong urge to obtain or possess something, especially material wealth, in quantity
124. Slipshod - Marked by carelessness; sloppy or slovenly; slovenly in appearance; shabby or seedy; indifferent to correctness, accuracy, or neatness; careless; not well done
125. Slatternly - Slovenly; untidy

Suffix

SUFFIX – 2 WITH MEANING

Suffix - Meaning - example

1). er, or - one who; person or thing that does something; or - condition, activity

e.g - In Porter PORT is a root word which means to carry and ER is the suffix meaning one who, thus porter means a person who carries things.

Error means condition of being wrong.


2). oid - like or resembling.

e.g - Humanoid means having human characteristics or form.

Note - Nouns ending in -oid form adjectives by adding the suffix -al e.g spheroid, spheroidal.


3). ose - possessing; having the characteristics of; full of.

e.g - Verbose means using or containing too many words.


4). ism - the act, state, or theory of, belief

e.g - Fascism means a political theory advocating an authoritarian hierarchical government (as opposed to democracy or liberalism)


5). fic - doing, making, producing, or causing (the thing specified in the initial element)

e.g - Horrific means causing horror.


SUFFIX – 1 WITH MEANING
Suffix - Meaning - example

1). id - with a particular quality

e.g - In acrid ACR means sharp ID means quality in smells and tastes thus refers to a particular quality.


2). able, ible - capable of

e.g - In credible root word CRED means trust, believe and suffix IBLE means capable of , thus credible means that can be believed.


3). acy - state of

e.g - celibacy means (state of) living unmarried.


4). ant - full of

e.g - luxuriant means growing thickly and strongly for instance luxuriant tropical vegetation

5). ate - to make

e.g - legitimate means to make legal