Sharpen GRE Verbal with 870+ vocabulary, sentence structure, critical reasoning, and reading comprehension questions with detailed contextual rationales.
The claim that the new medical treatment produced permanent results proved [____]; once the initial trial was expanded to a broader patient cohort, the positive physiological effects were shown to be strictly temporary.
Blank (i)
Show Official Answer & Step-by-Step Rationale
Correct Answer:unfounded
Step-by-Step Proof:
The semicolon sets up an explanation of the blank. After the trial was expanded, the effects were revealed to be 'strictly temporary', which directly contradicts the initial claim that results were 'permanent'. Consequently, the claim proved to be groundless or incorrect. 'Unfounded' means having no foundation for fact; baseless. 'Definitive' and 'unassailable' (impossible to dispute) contradict the finding that the claim was untrue.
Common ETS Trap Warning:
Options 'definitive' and 'unassailable' are antonyms of the target concept; they describe claims that hold up to scrutiny rather than collapse under expanded trials.
🎯 Key Rule:
A semicolon signals that the following clause restates or explains the preceding idea; match the blank directly to the clarification.
To ensure that non-specialist board members could readily comprehend the financial forecast, the lead analyst made sure the executive summary was [____], deliberately omitting convoluted technical jargon.
Show Official Answer & Step-by-Step Rationale
Correct Answer:lucid, perspicuous
Step-by-Step Proof:
The sentence indicates that the analyst wanted board members to 'readily comprehend' the forecast and 'deliberately omit[ted] convoluted technical jargon'. Therefore, the executive summary was made clear and easy to understand. 'Lucid' and 'perspicuous' both mean clearly expressed and easily understood. 'Abstruse', 'opaque', and 'esoteric' mean difficult to understand, the exact opposites. 'Exhaustive' means fully comprehensive, which is not indicated by the elimination of technical jargon.
Common ETS Trap Warning:
'Abstruse' and 'esoteric' form an antonymous decoy pair that would describe the convoluted technical jargon being avoided.
🎯 Key Rule:
Sentence Equivalence distractors often include valid synonym pairs that express the precise opposite of the sentence's contextual demand.
Because the preliminary epidemiological survey was compiled using highly [____] sampling techniques, researchers were hesitant to extrapolate its findings to the broader national demographic.
Blank (i)
Show Official Answer & Step-by-Step Rationale
Correct Answer:haphazard
Step-by-Step Proof:
The sentence provides a cause-and-effect relationship initiated by 'Because'. The consequence is that researchers 'were hesitant to extrapolate its findings'. Hesitance to generalize implies that the sampling methods were flawed, unsystematic, or careless. 'Haphazard' means lacking any obvious principle of organization, which perfectly explains why researchers would doubt the sample's generalizability. 'Rigorous' (thorough and accurate) and 'exhaustive' (fully comprehensive) would warrant confidence rather than hesitation.
Common ETS Trap Warning:
Distractors 'rigorous' and 'exhaustive' represent positive methodological qualities that directly contradict the hesitation expressed in the main clause.
🎯 Key Rule:
Pay close attention to structural indicators like 'Because' to match the cause with the logical consequence established by the sentence.
