46 GRE Verbal Practice Questions – Text Completions

The aspiring candidate’s performance in the debate all but ____ any hope he may have had of winning the election.
A) nullifies
B) encourages
C) guarantees
D) accentuates
E) contains

She is the most ____ person I have ever met, seemingly with an endless reserve of energy.
A) jejune
B) vivacious
C) solicitous
D) impudent
E) indolent

In spite of the (1) ____ vista of the country, dismantled by war and its development clogged by illiteracy, locals like to (2) ____ their nationalism.
Blank 1
diverse
chaotic
static
Blank 2
flaunt
curb
conceal

Liharev flirts with being both a nihilist and an atheist during his life, yet he never does ____ faith in God.
affirm
lose
scorn
aver
supplicate

Existentialism can be used to (1) ____ evil: if one does not like the rules of society and has no conscience, he may use existentialism as a means of (2) ____ a set of beliefs that are (3) ____ to him but injurious to others.
Blank 1
rationalize
thwart
condemn
Blank 2
converting
impugning
justifying
Blank 3
adverse
asinine
advantageous

These categories amply point out the (1)__ desire that people have to express themselves and the cleverness they display in that expression; who would have believed that the drab, (2) ____ DMV would become the (3) ____ such creativity?
Blank 1
acquired
fundamental
platonic
Blank 2
mundane
incorrigible
inspiring
Blank 3 inhibitor of
catalyst for
censor of

This argues well that Erikson exercised less free will than Warner; for even though Erikson was aware that he was misdirected, he was still unable to ____ free will.
defer
facilitate
proscribe
prevent
exert

Located amidst the colossal green hills, what might have otherwise been a (1)___ airfield in (2)___ part of the North assumed the overtones of the battlefield.
Blank 1
picturesque
combatant
stark
Blank 2
an estranged
an exquisite
a war torn

Though most explicitly sexist words have been replaced by gender-neutral terms, sexism thrives in the ____ of many words.
indistinctness
similitude
loquacity
implications
obscurity

We landed at the airport with (1)___ notions of the country as (2)___ country where many parents are alleged to have sold their children in exchange for food.
Blank 1
unwarranted
germane
preconceived
Blank 2
an impotent
an impoverished
an opulent

Man is violent; therefore, any theory of conflict resolution between nations that (1)___ to account for this is (2)__ flawed. Blank 1
declines
consents
fails
Blank 2
inherently
pejoratively
manifestly

Ironically, the foreign affairs policies of democracies are more likely to meet with protests than similar policies of totalitarian regimes because a democracy is ____ protest; whereas in a totalitarian regime, no one is listening.
impassive to
indifferent to
imperiled by
sensitive to
inured to

Although the buildings and streets of this small beach town appear (1) ____, the property values are quite (2) ____.
Blank 1
expensive
dilapidated
refurbished
Blank 2
high
pedestrian
reasonable

Though he claimed the business was (1)___, his irritability (2)___ that claim.
Blank 1
expanding
static
sound
Blank 2 vindicated
belied
affirmed

The rules of engagement for United Nations troops stationed in Bosnia prohibit deadly force unless all ____ actions have be exhausted.
comparable
arbitrary
alternative
apropos
extraordinary

Despite its lofty goal—truth—many scholars maintain that law as a ____ is a highly regulated street fight.
dogma
study
profession
philosophy
lifestyle

Some argue that American politics have become so (1) ____ that politicians will argue merely to gain power, and the subject of debate is often (2) ____. The vigorous dispute over where to place a comma in the Republican platform, for example, was motivated not by any significant change in meaning but by a desire not to show any (3) ____ to the other side.
Blank 1
antiquated
polarized
homogenized
Blank 2
neglibile
exigent
convoluted
Blank 3
ambivalence
deference
favoritism

The citizenry had become so (1) ____ by the president’s (2) ____ that the latest financial scandal did not even make the front page of the newspapers.
Blank 1
jaded
disgusted
fascinated
Blank 2
indiscretions
magnanimity
peccadilloes

In these politically correct times, it has become ____ to discuss certain subjects at all.
safe
eccentric
precarious
efficacious
effortless

Although the stock market has experienced strong (1) ____ in the past two years, there have been short periods in which the market has (2) ____ precipitously.
Blank 1
sluggishness
growth
stagnation
Blank 2
fallen
stabilized
increased

Her ____ attitude toward child-rearing was complemented with plenty of love.
austere
indifferent
ambivalent
lenient
sycophantic

The interviewer was startled to hear the otherwise gracious author make the ____ remark: “My novels are too sophisticated for the American public.”
apt
enigmatic
bombastic
vacuous
insightful

The judge openly associated with racist organizations; nevertheless, he showed no ____ in his decisions during his career.
favoritism
benevolence
openness
prejudice
altruism

The condemnatory (1) ____ of critics directed toward Steven Spielberg’s latest film attests to the fact that the pretentious critics have lost sight of the purpose of movies: (2) ____.
Blank 1
drivel
laud
circumlocution
Blank 2
to entertain
to correct
to convert

Suicide is the outcome of man’s difficulty to ____ himself in society, so he does not feel isolated. materialize
seclude
homogenize
secure
integrate

It is a situation with a hard, practical edge which raises issues of life-threatening (1)___. Therefore, it demands to be addressed with cool, clear-headed (2)___.
Blank 1
evidence
immediacy
existence
Blank 2
pragmatism
erudition
involvement

The general accused the senator of naiveté for ____ that air strikes alone could stop the aggressors.
advocating
denying
obfuscating
mishandling
disallowing

Hundreds of citizens showed up to (1)____ the planning commission’s master plan for regional centers, claiming that adding 800,000 additional people to the metro area by the year 2020 would cause (2)__ and gridlock.
Blank 1
celebrate
amend
protest
Blank 2
overcrowding
bathos
duplicity

Though ____ toward his own material needs, he was always magnanimous toward others.
neglectful
charitable
profligate
improvident
condemnatory

The intelligence community should not be (1)____ for not foreseeing the fall of the Soviet Union; even Hedrick Smith, author of The Russians, stated in 1986 that the Soviet Union is the world’s most (2)___ society.
Blank 1
applauded
castigated
engendered
Blank 2
arbitrary
stable
conscientious

Although prices (1) ____ during the fuel shortage, the suppliers actually saw (2)___ in profits.
Blank 1
fluctuated
decreased
increased
Blank 2
a windfall
a loss
a boon

In the 1950s, integration was (1) ____ to most Americans; now, however, most Americans accept it as (2) ____.
Blank 1
an anathema
welcome
common
Blank 2
sporadic
desirable
mandatory

A more admirable character would have been one who overcame his (1) ____ impulses and became good; rather than one who merely lacked the (2) ____ to be bad.
Blank 1
ire
compassionate
evil
Blank 2
serenity
patience
sophistication

Although World War II ended more than half a century ago, Russia and Japan still have not signed a formal peace treaty; and both countries have been (1) ____ to develop more (2) ____ relations.
Blank 1
reticent
inimical
obstinate
Blank 2
controversial
hostile
amiable

Some are born with a (1)___ to commit suicide, whereas some commit suicide because they are unable to bear (2)___ changes in their lives.
Blank 1
predisposition
prognosis
prodigy
Blank 2
cataclysmic
inimical
perpetual

Today, plastic has proved to be a (1)___ to the environment; the world over, steps are being taken to ban the (2)___ and non-recyclable material, which has silently taken over our lives.
Blank 1
perquisite
menace
boon
Blank 2
non-ecofriendly
ominous
cacophonous

Despite its (1) ____ and safety in treating some of the most incapacitating forms of depression and anxiety, it has not been widely (2) ____.
Blank 1
usefulness
ineffectuality
potency
Blank 2
renounced
accepted
commenced

Despite her age, she has a silly and ____ sense of humor.
mature
trivial
ambiguous
asinine
youthful

There are different and (1) ____ versions about what happened in the city, but one thing is certain: it a dastardly act that must be condemned (2) ____.
Blank 1
complementary
falsified
conflicting
Blank 2
commensurately
unequivocally
promptly

By (1)____ celebrities from the sports, entertainment, or business arenas, the show narrates the stories of the (2)____ newsmakers from all walks of life.
Blank 1
narrating
profiling
parading
Blank 2
influential
ordinary
pedestrian

Behind their strange appearance and (1)____ for carrion, which has long singled them out for fear and loathing, hyenas present a (2)____ society in which females dominate.
Blank 1
penchant
aversion
chary
Blank 2
realistic
matriarchal
monarchal

At the cutting edge of research, scientists are developing new sunscreens of both ____ and internal varieties. polar
topical
territorial
atmospheric
regional

Although the AIDS epidemic is in the limelight, there is a silent killer (1)___ through India, killing more people than AIDS itself. The (2)___ is that, unlike AIDS, this disease is easily cured.
Blank 1
rampaging
digressing
alleviating
Blank 2
conundrum
conflict
irony

Knowing that she was overshadowed by many other actors, Julianne recognized that she was indulging in a bit of ____ when she wondered whether Michael was the greatest living actor.
irony
overemphasis
understatement
hyperbole
injustice

Their courage is only ____; a small show of strength is enough to call their bluff.
ostentation
fortitude
temperament
exhibition
bravado