GRE® Text Completion Questions

About a fourth of the questions that appear in the GRE verbal section are Text Completion questions. Though many of these GRE text completion questions test day-to-day vocabulary, a few of the tougher ones will require a higher standard of word power. Text completion in GRE is one of the easier questions that will help get a GRE Verbal score that is upward of 160. Therefore, it makes sense to learn new words from a reputed 1000 GRE words or a most common GRE word list.

Curated sample GRE questions are presented here below. Attempt these questions and check if you have got the correct answer. One can use the explanatory answer or Video explanation made available (wherever provided) to help crack important GRE verbal questions.

1. Unlike the expatriates of yester years, who gave nothing back to their native lands, those today are making _____________ investments.

   1. more or less the same
   2. much smaller
   3. truly commendable
   4. mandatory
   5. obligatory

   Correct AnswerChoice C
   truly commendable

   Explanation

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2. While alcohol causes obvious and immediate changes in moods and behaviours, nicotine has ________ effects, but is equally deleterious to health over prolonged periods of time.

   1. more pronounced
   2. less harmful
   3. equal
   4. less conspicuous
   5. similar

   Correct AnswerChoice D
   less conspicuous

   Explanation

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3. Addiction can be viewed as a continued involvement with a substance or activity despite the ____________ associated with it. The substance or activity may have originally provided pleasure and enjoyment. However, over a period of time ____________ the substance or activity is needed to feel normal.

   S No.	Blank 1	S No.	Blank 2
   A	negative consequences	D	continued involvement with
   B	prohibitive costs	E	removal from
   C	beneficial effects	F	partaking in

   Correct AnswerChoices A and D
   negative consequences, continued involvement with

   Explanation

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4. Greek tragedy, from which Racine borrowed ____________, tended to assume that humanity was under the control of gods who were indifferent to its ____________, a theme that was therefore recurrent in Racine’s work.

   S No.	Blank 1	S No.	Blank 2
   A	in plenitude	D	sufferings and aspirations
   B	very rarely	E	followers and devotees
   C	only once	F	rites and rituals

   Correct AnswerChoices A & D
   in plenitude, sufferings and aspirations

   Explanation

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5. While it may appear ________ the related concept, 'theme', the term 'motif' differs somewhat in usage. Any number of narrative elements with symbolic import can be ________ motifs ________ they are images, structural or stylistic devices, or other elements such as sound, physical movement, or visual components in dramatic narratives.

   S No.	Blank 1	S No.	Blank 2	S No.	Blank 3
   A	interchangeable with	D	determined by	G	because
   B	identical to	E	classified as	H	whether or not
   C	similar to	F	clubbed together as	I	although

   Correct AnswerChoice B, E, H
   identical to, classified as, whether or not

   Explanation

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6. The corrupt politician ______ in his answers, but the scandal was brought to light when a/an _______ investigator discovered ________ in the accounts given by various witnesses.

   S No.	Blank 1	S No.	Blank 2	S No.	Blank 3
   A	vilified	D	unscrupulous	G	imprudence
   B	prevaricated	E	magnanimous	H	aberrations
   C	castigated	F	astute	I	vacillations

   Correct AnswerChoices B, F and H
   prevaricated, astute, aberrations

   Explanation

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7. In an effort to _______ the orbits of planets in class, the Professor created a motorized replica of the solar system.

   1. confound
   2. expound
   3. exhort
   4. corroborate
   5. extenuate

   Correct AnswerChoice B
   expound

   Explanation

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8. Nostalgia can distort the picture of reality by ________ events from one's past and by ________ more recent events.

   S No.	Blank 1	S No.	Blank 2
   A	eliciting	D	demoralizing
   B	edifying	E	disparaging
   C	exalting	F	ridiculing

   Correct AnswerChoices C and E
   exalting, disparaging

   Explanation

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9. Like other great champions, Sampras has also experienced ____ in his career: He has had his moments of _____ and he has also suffered ____.

   S No.	Blank 1	S No.	Blank 2	S No.	Blank 3
   A	vacillations	D	discord	G	tribulations
   B	fickleness	E	euphoria	H	constraints
   C	capriciousness	F	candidness	I	attenuation

   Correct AnswerChoices A, E and G
   vacillations, euphoria, tribulations

   Explanation

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10. In an authoritarian dictatorship where free press is suppressed, even the slightest sign of _______ can be interpreted as __________ .

    S No.	Blank 1	S No.	Blank 2
    A	revolution	D	defiance
    B	dissent	E	obedience
    C	conformity	F	sedition

    Correct AnswerChoices B and F
    dissent, sedition

    Explanation

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11. Because Istanbul lies in two continents – Asia and Europe, its culture is a fascinating _______ of both Asian and European cultures.

    1. aberration
    2. galvanization
    3. amalgam
    4. travesty
    5. juxtaposition

    Correct AnswerChoice C
    amalgam

    Explanation

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12. Getting a private pilot's license is expensive affair in Europe, but this problem can be _______ if one obtains a license from certain south-east Asian countries where the cost of the license is much lesser.

    1. prevaricated
    2. excluded
    3. exacerbated
    4. circumvented
    5. averted

    Correct AnswerChoiceD
    circumvented

    Explanation

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13. When Richard saw the ________ conditions of the rooms and the ________ of the staff, he decided not to stay in the hotel.

    S No.	Blank 1	S No.	Blank 2
    A	dilapidated	D	reticence
    B	deplorable	E	efficiency
    C	indigent	F	ineptitude

    Correct AnswerChoices B and F
    deplorable, ineptitude

    Explanation

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14. Considering its high level of juvenile delinquency and the large number of children dropping out of schools, it is surprising to note that the small mid-western town also has one of the highest number of _______ youngsters in the country.

    1. belligerent
    2. peremptory
    3. prolific
    4. prodigal
    5. precocious

    Correct AnswerChoice E
    precocious

    Explanation

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15. Ironically the same countries advocating government _________ , who criticized Greece for its ___________ public spending also sponsored the most ___________ display of wealth during public functions.

    S No.	Blank 1	S No.	Blank 2	S No.	Blank 3
    A	caution	D	unwarranted	G	ostentatious
    B	austerity	E	disproportionate	H	unnecessary
    C	restraint	F	extravagant	I	deliberate

    Correct AnswerChoices B, F, G
    austerity, extravagant, ostentatious

    Explanation