ASVAB Word Knowledge Practice Test

Answer: B

Correct answer: dangerous. Cover -ous to find hazard, a danger or risk. The -ous ending forms an adjective meaning having that quality, so hazardous means dangerous.

• A: This is the noun base; an adjective target needs an adjective synonym.
• B (correct): Hazard means a danger, and -ous means full of or having, so hazardous means dangerous.
• C: Accidental means happening by chance, which says nothing about how risky something is.
• D: Protected means kept safe, which is closer to the opposite of risky.

Answer: B

Correct answer: living space. "Returned to" and "to rest" show QUARTERS is a place people live. In military life, quarters means living space.

• A: Quarters can be 25-cent coins, but recruits do not return to coins to rest.
• B (correct): Quarters are lodgings, and "returned to their living space to rest" fits the military setting.
• C: Quarters can be four equal parts, a math sense that does not name a place.
• D: A drill field is where recruits train, not where they go to rest after marching.

Answer: C

Correct answer: diverse. Varied describes a group that contains many different kinds. The menu lists four different meals, so diverse is the synonym. Do not confuse it with variable, which means likely to change.

• A: Changeable is the meaning of variable, a different member of the family that describes something likely to change.
• B: Repetitive means the same thing again and again, the opposite of a menu with many kinds of food.
• C (correct): Diverse means made up of many different kinds, just like a menu with four very different dishes.
• D: Nothing in the example concerns price; the dishes show range, not cost.

Answer: A

Correct answer: stiff. Rigid means firm and not able to bend. Stiff matches; flexible is the opposite, and heavy and broken describe other qualities.

• A (correct): Rigid means unable to bend, which is what stiff means.
• B: This is the opposite of rigid.
• C: Rigid objects may be heavy, but weight is a separate property from stiffness.
• D: A broken item is damaged, which has nothing to do with being unable to bend.

Answer: D

Correct answer: boost. Bolster means to support, prop up, or strengthen. The purpose clue (calls with families during a long deployment) shows the aim is to raise spirits.

• A: The video calls are meant to change morale, not to check its level.
• B: Morale is not being swapped for something else; the calls are meant to support it.
• C: Lower is the opposite of what weekly calls home are meant to do for morale.
• D (correct): Bolster means to support or strengthen, so boost fits the goal of lifting morale.

Answer: C

Correct answer: reveal. Divulge means to disclose or reveal something secret. Define the target word before applying the negation: refused to reveal makes sense, while protect describes the whole clause, not the word.

• A: Protecting the witness is the effect of refusing; the word divulge itself means the opposite action.
• B: Nothing suggests the detective could not remember the name.
• C (correct): Divulge means to make known something private or secret, so refusing to divulge the name means refusing to reveal it.
• D: Divide looks similar but means to split into parts.

Answer: D

Correct answer: confiscation. Cover -ure to find seize, to take hold of by force. The -ure ending forms a noun naming an act, as in closure, so seizure is the act of taking. When officials take illegal goods, that act is confiscation.

• A: Seize is the verb base; after "announced the" a noun is needed.
• B: A sale trades goods for money, while officers taking goods is not a sale.
• C: Release means letting something go, the opposite of taking control of it.
• D (correct): Seize plus -ure names the act of seizing, and officers taking illegal goods is confiscation.

Answer: D

Correct answer: stormy. "Despite" signals a surprise: going ahead outdoors was unexpected, so the weather must have been bad, and the cold rain confirms it. INCLEMENT means stormy.

• A: This is the opposite; pleasant weather would not make holding the event outdoors surprising.
• B: Mild weather would not leave guests huddled against cold rain.
• C: Whether the weather was forecast is never stated; the clue is how bad it was.
• D (correct): Cold rain that forces guests under umbrellas is rough, stormy weather.

Answer: B

Correct answer: exhausting. "Even more" compares the climbs, and the first was already draining. The second was worse still, so ARDUOUS means exhausting or requiring great effort.

• A: Views are never mentioned; the comparison is about physical strain.
• B (correct): The first climb left the team gasping and sore, and the second was even worse, so it took great effort.
• C: A short climb would not be harder than one that left people gasping.
• D: Danger is a different idea; the clue describes effort and soreness, not risk of harm.

Answer: D

Correct answer: dutiful. Conscientious describes someone who does a job thoroughly because it is the right thing to do. The clue that the clerk checks even when no supervisor is around shows duty, with an approving tone, so dutiful fits; fussy has the wrong connotation and conscious is a look-alike.

• A: Fussy suggests annoying concern over trivial details; the clerk is checking things that matter, so the tone is too negative.
• B: Checking invoices is routine care, not a sign that the clerk distrusts anyone.
• C: Conscious looks similar but means awake or aware; it does not describe doing one's duty carefully.
• D (correct): Conscientious means careful to do one's work properly out of a sense of duty, which matches dutiful.

Answer: B

Correct answer: resolute. Decisive describes the leader, so it is an adjective about a person. For people, decisive means showing firm, quick judgment, and the clue "within seconds" confirms it. Resolute could replace it without changing the meaning.

• A: Conclusive fits the other sense of decisive, an outcome that settles a question, but here the word describes a person's judgment.
• B (correct): Resolute means firm and quick in making up one's mind, which is the sense used for a leader who chose a route in seconds.
• C: A decision is the noun for the choice itself; it is a family member, not a word that can describe a leader.
• D: Hesitant means slow to act, the opposite of a leader who chose within seconds.

Answer: A

Correct answer: blessing. Bene means well and dict means say, so a benediction is literally a speaking well. A chaplain's benediction is a blessing spoken over the troops.

• A (correct): Bene means well and dict means say, so a benediction is a speaking of good wishes, which is a blessing.
• B: Dict does mean say, but bene, well, makes this a good wish, not an order.
• C: A salute is a gesture, while benediction is built from say plus well.
• D: This is the opposite idea, closer to speaking badly of someone; bene means good.

Answer: B

Correct answer: unstable. Volatile describes something liable to change quickly and unpredictably, often for the worse. Unstable keeps that meaning; violent claims the change has already happened, hopeless adds an outcome, and secret is unrelated.

• A: Violent states that fighting is happening, which overstates volatile; the word describes a situation that could change suddenly.
• B (correct): Volatile means likely to change suddenly or explosively, which unstable captures.
• C: Hopeless means without any chance of improvement, a much stronger and different claim.
• D: Secrecy has nothing to do with how likely a situation is to change.

Answer: C

Correct answer: Lower-ranking. Sub- means under, and the base relates to order or rank. An office that carries out decisions made at headquarters ranks below it, so subordinate means lower-ranking.

• A: Higher-ranking is a super- idea, the reverse of sub-.
• B: Disobedient adds a negative attitude, but the office is carrying out decisions, not resisting them.
• C (correct): Sub- means under, and ordinate refers to rank or order, so a subordinate role sits below headquarters.
• D: Ordinary keeps only the look-alike base and drops sub-, the under idea that the sentence supports.

Answer: D

Correct answer: lacking serious purpose. The contrast is between a decoration and a leaking roof, so the council is judging importance, not price. Frivolous means trivial or unserious, so lacking serious purpose matches; too expensive is the tempting near-miss.

• A: Cost is mentioned, but the council's point is that the purpose is unimportant compared with the leak; even a cheap fountain would be frivolous here.
• B: Nothing suggests the fountain is illegal; frivolous is about importance, not legality.
• C: Dishonest means deceptive; the request is openly for a fountain, so nothing is being hidden.
• D (correct): Frivolous means trivial or not worth serious attention, which fits a decoration chosen over an urgent roof repair.