GRE Sentence Equivalence Questions

About a fourth of the questions that appear in the GRE verbal section are sentence equivalence questions. Improve your word power and you will be able to ace GRE Sentence Equivalence questions.

1. Although the Industrial revolution brought about a raft of new techniques in the area of machine design, the methods used for the printing and binding of books continued ___________ till the early years of the 20th century.

   1. intermittently
   2. improving
   3. transforming
   4. unchanged
   5. advancing
   6. unmodified

   Correct AnswerChoices D and F
   unchanged, unmodified

   Explanation

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2. The ___________ tone and appealing image of American Rock and Roll and blues musicians became popular with British youth in the late 1950s.

   1. dulcet
   2. cacophony
   3. dissonant
   4. bohemian
   5. hoarse
   6. glamorous

   Correct AnswerChoice A & D
   dulcet, bohemian

   Explanation

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3. Fellow journalists Eric Sevareid, Ed Bliss and Alexander Kendrick considered Murrow one of journalism's greatest figures, noting his honesty and ___________ in delivering the news.

   1. integrity
   2. deceit
   3. credibility
   4. duplicity
   5. complacency
   6. disloyalty

   Correct AnswerChoice A and C
   integrity, credibility

   Explanation

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4. His writing of "Common Sense" was so influential in ___________ the Revolutionary War that John Adams reportedly said, "Without the pen of the author of 'Common Sense', the sword of Washington would have been raised in vain.”

   1. spurring
   2. stopping
   3. ending
   4. stimulating
   5. obstructing
   6. impeding

   Correct AnswerChoices A & D
   spurring, stimulating

   Explanation

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5. Coetzee is known to be reclusive, and he __________ publicity to such an extent that he did not collect either of his two Booker Prizes in person.

   1. welcomes
   2. avoids
   3. courts
   4. shuns
   5. gathers
   6. tries

   Correct AnswerChoices B and D
   avoids, shuns

   Explanation

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6. Even though Magellan would eventually die on his ambitious cruise around the world, nothing was ______ on the morning of his departure from his home port.

   1. innocuous
   2. portentous
   3. propitious
   4. amiss
   5. auspicious
   6. ingenuous

   Correct AnswerChoices B and D
   portentous, amiss

   Explanation

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7. Since the invention of computers, chips and processors have become smaller and simpler, but computer programs have become increasingly _________.

   1. anomalous
   2. efficient
   3. byzantine
   4. treacherous
   5. labyrinthine
   6. intransigent

   Correct AnswerChoices C and E
   byzantine, labyrinthine

   Explanation

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8. The increasing ease with which photos can be shot, edited and shared means that our archaic idea of the “struggling art photographer” now has to be ______ to include an audience which, in an earlier era, might have been consumers of art photography.

   1. morphed
   2. developed
   3. expanded
   4. modified
   5. augmented
   6. extended

   Correct AnswerChoices C and F
   expanded, extended

   Explanation

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9. When Jeff fell prey to an on-line credit card scam, the sting of ________ hurt him more than the loss of money.

   1. suffering
   2. duplicity
   3. faithlessness
   4. falsehood
   5. deception
   6. indigence

   Correct AnswerChoices B and E
   duplicity, deception

   Explanation

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10. In order to stop the uproar on social media that was ______ by the politician's unpopular comment, his press agent had to issue a public apology.

    1. exacerbated
    2. precipitated
    3. precluded
    4. triggered
    5. prevaricated
    6. goaded

    Correct AnswerChoices B and D
    precipitated, triggered

    Explanation

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11. When the policeman ordered the suspects to line up, his ________ tone and manner suggested that he was totally in charge of the situation.

    1. taciturn
    2. imperious
    3. temperamental
    4. laconic
    5. mercurial
    6. peremptory

    Correct AnswerChoices B and F
    imperious, peremptory

    Explanation

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12. The air steward's _______ towards the plight of the passengers was evident when instead of attending to their needs, he was relaxing on a chair and reading a magazine.

    1. concern
    2. apathy
    3. calumny
    4. reticence
    5. indifference
    6. impudence

    Correct AnswerChoices B and E
    apathy, indifference

    Explanation

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13. In her candid memoirs, the chief secretary to the President ________ several details about the scandal which the public was not aware of.

    1. betrayed
    2. divulged
    3. informed
    4. revealed
    5. penned
    6. conceded

    Correct AnswerChoices B and D
    divulged, revealed

    Explanation

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14. Even a century after its discovery, Quantum theory remains a/an __________ subject and only a few have managed to really understand it.

    1. arcane
    2. lucid
    3. transparent
    4. inane
    5. enigmatic
    6. exacting

    Correct AnswerChoices A and E
    arcane, enigmatic

    Explanation

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15. Neuroscience and artificial intelligence are _________ fields that promise immense opportunities for teaching and employment for today's graduates.

    1. lucrative
    2. profitable
    3. burgeoning
    4. escalating
    5. increasing
    6. expanding

    Correct AnswerChoices C and F
    burgeoning, expanding

    Explanation