Word Families Lesson Test: Check Your Vocabulary

Answer: D

Correct answer: reliable. Depend means rely on, and -able adds the idea of capability, so dependable means able to be relied on. The steady, on-time record confirms that reliable is the closest synonym.

• A: Changeable means likely to vary, which conflicts with a full year of on-time work.
• B: Needy suggests the mechanic requires help, the opposite of being someone others can count on.
• C: Reliant means needing support from something else, which reverses who depends on whom.
• D (correct): Dependable describes something or someone you can count on, and finishing every job on time shows exactly that.

Answer: D

Correct answer: thorough. Exhaust can mean use up completely, and exhaustive describes covering every possibility. Checking every bolt, weld, and cable shows the inspection was thorough, not merely tiring.

• A: Hasty means rushed, which contradicts an inspection that covered every part.
• B: Tiring borrows the sense of exhaustion; the inspection may have been tiring, but the word describes its completeness.
• C: Partial means covering only some parts, the opposite of checking everything.
• D (correct): Exhaustive means leaving nothing relevant out, which matches checking every bolt, weld, and cable.

Answer: A

Correct answer: limiting. Restrict means limit, and the adjective restrictive describes something that imposes limits. A dress code that permits almost no personal choice is limiting.

• A (correct): Restrictive describes something that imposes limits, and a code allowing almost no choice is limiting.
• B: Relaxed means loose or easygoing, the opposite of a code that allows almost no choice.
• C: Unpredictable means hard to anticipate, which has nothing to do with limiting choices.
• D: Restriction is the noun for a limit or rule; it names a thing rather than describing the dress code.

Answer: D

Correct answer: roughly similar. Compare means examine likenesses and differences, and comparable means similar enough to be compared meaningfully. Both batteries lasting just over six hours makes roughly similar the best fit, without claiming they are identical.

• A: Sharply different is the opposite of the sense here, since both batteries lasted about the same time.
• B: Competitive relates to rivalry, not to how close two measurements are.
• C: Comparable does not claim the values match precisely, only that they are close enough to compare.
• D (correct): Comparable means alike enough in the stated respect, and run times of a little over six hours each are roughly similar.

Answer: A

Correct answer: accomplishing a lot. Productive is the adjective in the family produce, production, product, productive, and it describes someone who gets a lot done. Six vehicles fixed before lunch confirms accomplishing a lot.

• A (correct): Productive comes from produce and describes getting a lot done, which six repairs before lunch shows.
• B: This points to production or product, a related family member, not the adjective's meaning.
• C: This reverses the meaning; the crew actually finished six repairs.
• D: Rest is not mentioned; the sentence is about output.

Answer: B

Correct answer: careful. Cautious is the adjective form of caution and describes a person who takes care to avoid risk. Slow speed and extra spacing fit careful; warning is the noun-sense trap.

• A: A warning is a caution in the noun sense; the adjective cautious describes the drivers, not a message.
• B (correct): Cautious, from caution, means taking care to avoid danger, which slow speed and extra space show.
• C: Being careful does not require fear, and the sentence describes actions, not panic.
• D: Reckless is the opposite; the drivers slowed down and left space.

Answer: D

Correct answer: worsen. Deteriorate means become worse in condition or quality. Rust and loose joints show decline, not just age, so worsen is the closest meaning.

• A: Staying the same contradicts the visible rust and loosening that developed.
• B: Improve means get better, the opposite of developing rust and loose joints.
• C: Simply growing older is not the meaning; deteriorate requires a decline in condition, not just the passing of time.
• D (correct): Deteriorate means grow worse in condition, as shown by the rust and loose joints.

Answer: C

Correct answer: impartiality. Objectivity names the quality of being impartial and fact-based. Because every call rested on the replay rather than feelings, impartiality is the closest synonym; goal belongs to a different sense of objective.

• A: Favoritism means unfairly preferring one side, the opposite of judging by the evidence.
• B: Goal reflects a different sense of the noun objective, not the quality of being unbiased.
• C (correct): Objectivity is judging by facts without personal bias, which matches calls based strictly on the replay.
• D: Personal opinion is the kind of bias that objectivity sets aside.

Answer: A

Correct answer: decisive. Conclude can mean reach a judgment from evidence, and conclusive describes evidence that settles an issue. Since the results allowed the engineers to approve the design, decisive is the best synonym.

• A (correct): Conclusive describes evidence that settles the question, which is why the design could be approved.
• B: Final paragraph comes from the related noun conclusion, not from the adjective describing test results.
• C: Uncertain describes inconclusive results, which would not have allowed the engineers to approve the design.
• D: Stopped picks up only the idea of ending; conclusive describes results that settle a matter, not results that halted.

Answer: B

Correct answer: observant. Perceive means notice, and perceptive describes someone with keen powers of observation. The inspector, not the crack, is described, so observant is correct and noticeable (perceptible) swaps observer and object.

• A: Suspicious means distrustful, which adds a judgment the sentence does not support.
• B (correct): Perceptive describes a person with keen observation, which fits the inspector who spotted what others missed.
• C: Noticeable means able to be seen, which is the meaning of perceptible and describes the crack rather than the inspector.
• D: Viewpoint is a sense of the noun perception, not an adjective describing the inspector.

Answer: A

Correct answer: refreshing. Restore means bring back to a former condition, and restorative describes something that renews strength or health. In a sentence about recovering after a long shift, refreshing is the closest meaning.

• A (correct): Restorative describes something that renews strength or energy, as a short nap does after a long shift.
• B: Restocking is a spelling-based trap from store; the sentence is about the nurse's energy, not supplies.
• C: Exhausting reverses the effect, since the nap renewed the nurse rather than draining her.
• D: Renovating means literally repairing a building, which does not fit a person's energy after a nap.

Answer: C

Correct answer: able to be legally upheld. Enforce means compel compliance, and -able marks possibility, so enforceable means capable of being upheld. The note that neither side has gone to court shows the sense is possibility, not action already taken.

• A: Universal approval is not required for an agreement to be legally upheld, so this adds an unsupported claim.
• B: Open to change describes flexibility, which has nothing to do with whether a court could require compliance.
• C (correct): Enforceable uses -able to show capability: the agreement can be upheld, even though no one has acted on it yet.
• D: Already being imposed describes enforcement in progress, but the sentence says no one has gone to court.

Answer: B

Correct answer: original. Innovate means introduce new methods or ideas, so innovative describes original, forward-looking methods. A method no other factory had tried is original.

• A: Expensive is an unsupported conclusion; nothing in the sentence mentions cost.
• B (correct): Innovative describes a new and inventive approach, and a method no other factory had tried is original.
• C: Newly purchased describes buying something recently, not introducing a new method.
• D: Traditional means long-established, the opposite of a method no one had tried before.

Answer: B

Correct answer: defensible. Justify means give good reasons, and -able adds the idea of capability, so justifiable means capable of being defended. A bridge closure is a sound reason, so defensible fits without claiming the delay was already excused.

• A: Forgiven already goes beyond the word, which says the delay can be defended, not that anyone has excused it.
• B (correct): Justifiable means capable of being supported with good reasons, and a forced detour is a defensible reason for being late.
• C: Deliberate means intentional, but the detour was forced on the driver, not chosen.
• D: Unreasonable is the opposite of having a sound reason like a bridge closure.

Answer: D

Correct answer: flexibility. Adapt means adjust, and -ability names a capacity, so adaptability is the capacity to adjust. With priorities changing weekly, flexibility is the best synonym.

• A: Obedience adds a judgment about following orders that the base adapt does not carry.
• B: Constancy means staying the same, which is the opposite of adjusting to weekly shifts.
• C: Modification is a single change already made, the sense of adaptation, not the ongoing capacity to adjust.
• D (correct): Adaptability is the capacity to adjust as conditions change, which is what flexibility means.

Answer: D

Correct answer: changeable. Vary means change, and variable describes something likely to change. A cost that rises and falls is changeable; diverse would confuse variable with varied.

• A: Excessive means too large, a judgment the sentence never makes.
• B: Fixed means unchanging, the opposite of a cost that rises and falls.
• C: Diverse matches varied, meaning made up of different kinds, not a single cost that changes.
• D (correct): Variable describes something likely to change, which fits a cost that rises and falls with fuel prices.

Answer: C

Correct answer: characteristic. Distinguish means recognize differences, and distinctive describes something easily set apart as characteristic. The song is distinctive because it is unlike others, not because it is better or honored.

• A: Ordinary means common, the opposite of a song unlike any other.
• B: Respected belongs to distinguished, a different word; distinctive says the song stands out, not that it is honored.
• C (correct): Distinctive means readily recognized as typical of one thing, and a song unlike any other is characteristic of the wren.
• D: Superior claims the song is better, but distinctive only means it is easy to tell apart.

Answer: B

Correct answer: open and talkative. Expansive can mean broad in scope, but about a person it means open and talkative. The words usually quiet and laughing and sharing stories show the person sense applies here.

• A: Shy and reserved describes how the sergeant usually is, the contrast the sentence draws, not how he acted.
• B (correct): Applied to a person, expansive means open and talkative, which matches laughing and sharing stories.
• C: Physically enlarged takes the literal growth sense of expand, which does not describe a person's mood.
• D: Broad in scope fits plans or projects, but the sentence describes a person's behavior at a gathering.

Answer: C

Correct answer: frequently repeated. Continual commonly means repeated over time, while continuous means without a break. The phone rang every few minutes, with pauses between rings, so frequently repeated fits.

• A: Brief describes length, but the sentence stresses how often the interruptions came.
• B: Unbroken is the sense of continuous, but the phone rang every few minutes with gaps in between.
• C (correct): Continual describes events that happen again and again with breaks between them, like a phone ringing every few minutes.
• D: Rarely occurring means seldom happening, the opposite of a phone ringing every few minutes.

Answer: A

Correct answer: demanding. Exact can mean precise, but exacting describes demanding very high standards. A foreman who rejects work for the slightest flaw is demanding.

• A (correct): Exacting describes someone who requires very high standards, as shown by rejecting seams with the slightest flaw.
• B: Lenient means easy to satisfy, the opposite of a foreman who rejects work for tiny flaws.
• C: Punctual means on time, which the sentence says nothing about.
• D: Mathematical picks up the precision sense of exact, but the word describes a person's strict standards.

Answer: C

Correct answer: promised work products. Deliver means hand over or provide, and in project work a deliverable is a specified output. A survey, an estimate, and drawings are promised work products, not people or places.

• A: Shipping addresses also follows the package-transport idea, which the listed items do not fit.
• B: Contract payments are what the client owes, not the work items listed as due Friday.
• C (correct): In project work, deliverables are specified outputs owed under the agreement, like the survey, estimate, and drawings.
• D: Delivery drivers takes the literal transport sense of deliver; the list names documents, not people.

Answer: A

Correct answer: thrifty. Economic refers to an economy, while economical means avoiding waste or expense. A truck that saves money on fuel and repairs is thrifty.

• A (correct): Economical means avoiding waste or expense, and saving hundreds a year makes the truck a thrifty choice.
• B: Financial matches economic, which refers to the economy or money in general, not to avoiding waste.
• C: Wasteful is the opposite of a vehicle that cuts fuel and repair spending.
• D: Luxurious suggests costly comfort, the opposite of a choice made to save money.

Answer: D

Correct answer: practical. Sensible and sensitive look alike but differ: sensitive means readily affected, while sensible means practical and reasonable. Turning around at a flooded road is the practical choice.

• A: Reckless means careless of danger, the opposite of turning away from a flooded road.
• B: Easily upset reflects the sense of sensitive, a different word that looks similar.
• C: Stubborn means unwilling to change course, but the driver did change course to avoid danger.
• D (correct): Sensible means practical and reasonable, which describes avoiding a flooded road.

Answer: B

Correct answer: intended to fix a problem. Correct as a verb means fix, and corrective describes action intended to remedy a problem. The training aims to fix counting errors, so intended to fix a problem fits; it does not claim the errors are already fixed.

• A: Completed and approved implies the fix is finished, but corrective names the purpose, not the result.
• B (correct): Corrective describes action whose purpose is to remedy errors, even before the fix is complete.
• C: Already accurate is the adjective sense of correct, describing a state rather than the purpose of the training.
• D: Meant to punish adds a judgment of penalty that corrective does not carry.

Answer: C

Correct answer: make excuses for. Rationalize can mean explain through logic, but it often means giving self-serving excuses. The clues rather than admit and blaming the weather point to making excuses, not careful reasoning.

• A: Reason through carefully is the positive sense of reasoning, but the context shows him avoiding the truth.
• B: Calculate exactly links rational to numbers, but no measuring or computing happens in the sentence.
• C (correct): Here rationalize means supplying self-serving explanations, which matches blaming the weather instead of admitting the mistake.
• D: Divide into shares is a spelling trap from ration, which is unrelated to explaining away a mistake.

Answer: A

Correct answer: able to be maintained over time. Sustain means keep going, and -able marks capacity, so sustainable means able to be maintained over time without using up the resource. Year after year shows the future capacity sense, not sustained, which describes effort already kept up.

• A (correct): Sustainable describes something capable of continuing without exhausting its resources, as a catch limit the population can support each year.
• B: Needing constant outside support reverses the relationship; the limit is set so the fish population can bear the harvest.
• C: Kept up so far describes sustained, an effort already continued, not a capacity to continue in the future.
• D: Temporarily increased contradicts the idea of a limit meant to last year after year.

Answer: D

Correct answer: concluded. A speaker implies, while a listener or observer infers by drawing a conclusion from evidence. The technician read the gauge and reached a judgment, so concluded is correct.

• A: Guessing blindly means using no evidence, but the technician reasoned from a steadily dropping gauge.
• B: Denied means refused to accept, which reverses the technician's judgment that a leak existed.
• C: Implied is the speaker's act of hinting; the technician is the one interpreting the evidence, so infer and imply swap roles.
• D (correct): To infer is to reach a conclusion from evidence, as the technician did from the falling gauge.

Answer: A

Correct answer: consistent connection. Continue suggests carrying on, and continuity means a connected, coherent flow from one part to the next. Keeping terms the same from chapter 2 to chapter 9 is consistent connection, not mere repetition.

• A (correct): Continuity is an unbroken, coherent connection over time, which keeps terms meaning the same from chapter to chapter.
• B: Speedy completion focuses on time to finish, not on how the chapters connect.
• C: Closing summary confuses continuity with conclusion, a word about endings rather than connection.
• D: Frequent repetition reflects continual, repeated events, which would not guarantee consistent meaning.

Answer: C

Correct answer: capable. Competent and competence refer to skill or ability, while compete and competitive refer to rivalry. The sentence rules out rivalry and stresses passing inspections, so capable is correct.

• A: Competitive means eager to outdo rivals, which the sentence explicitly says does not describe him.
• B: Rival names an opponent in a contest, a sense of competition rather than skill.
• C (correct): Competent means having the skill to do the job well enough, shown by wiring that always passes inspection.
• D: Ambitious means eager for success or advancement, which is a different trait from having skill.

Answer: B

Correct answer: influenced. Affect usually means influence, while effect as a verb means bring about. The generator noise acted on the operator's accuracy, so influenced is the closest meaning.

• A: Made effective links to effective, meaning producing an intended result, which the noise did not do.
• B (correct): Affect usually means influence, so the noise influenced, in this case worsened, the operator's accuracy.
• C: Measured describes recording a value, but the sentence says the noise acted on accuracy.
• D: Brought about is the verb sense of effect, which would mean the noise created the accuracy, a reversal of the sentence.

Answer: C

Correct answer: methodical. Analyze means examine systematically, and analytical describes reasoning that breaks evidence into parts. Separating speed, weather, and road design and weighing each one is methodical; it does not guarantee correctness.

• A: Emotional means driven by feeling, the opposite of weighing factors one at a time.
• B: Brief describes a short summary, but analysis is not the same as summarizing.
• C (correct): Analytical describes reasoning that systematically breaks evidence into parts, which the report did with each factor.
• D: Guaranteed accurate overstates the word; careful analysis can still reach a wrong result.

Answer: B

Correct answer: relating to how a group is structured. Organizational is an adjective meaning relating to an organization, as in an organizational chart. The example of unclear authority between departments shows the problems lie in how the company is structured, while neatly arranged is the false-friend meaning of organized.

• A: This is the meaning of organized, a related form that describes tidiness rather than a relation to a group.
• B (correct): Organizational means relating to an organization, and unclear lines of authority are a problem in how the company is set up.
• C: Nothing in the word or the sentence points to advance planning; this guess comes from the verb organize.
• D: The problems involve authority between departments, which concerns the group as a whole, not one person.

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: D

Correct answer: quick to react. Respond means to answer or react, and the -ive ending makes an adjective describing something that does this readily. The clue about fast replies confirms the meaning: quick to react.

• A: Accountable is the meaning of responsible, a look-alike word that is a common false friend for responsive.
• B: Nothing in the sentence is about cost; this choice ignores the reply-time clue.
• C: Hard to reach is the opposite of a desk that replies within ten minutes.
• D (correct): Responsive describes something that reacts promptly, and replies within ten minutes show exactly that.

Answer: A

Correct answer: clarifying. Explanatory sits between an article and a noun (the labels), so it is an adjective. Its base, explain, means to make clear, so the adjective means meant to clarify. Clarifying fits; explanation is only a related noun.

• A (correct): Clarifying means making something clear, which is what labels that tell visitors how tools were used do.
• B: Explanation is the noun from the same family; it cannot describe the labels in this sentence.
• C: Decorative labels would be there for looks, but these labels give information.
• D: Misleading means giving a false idea, the opposite of labels that inform visitors.

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: D

Correct answer: accountable. The sentence says the supervisor must answer for later problems because she signed off. That is the accountable sense of responsible. Responsive looks similar but means quick to react, so treat the two as separate words.

• A: Quick to react is the meaning of responsive, a look-alike word that is a classic false friend.
• B: Sensible means practical; responsible can describe a sensible person, but here it means answerable for the problems.
• C: Blameless means free of fault, the reverse of being the one who must answer for problems.
• D (correct): Accountable means required to answer for something, which is what signing off on the check makes the supervisor.

Answer: D

Correct answer: careful discussion. Deliberation ends in -tion and follows "two days of," so it names a process. It comes from the verb deliberate, to think over and discuss before deciding. The board discussed for two days and then voted, so the answer is careful discussion.

• A: This choice borrows the adjective sense of deliberate, meaning on purpose, but the sentence needs a noun for a process of discussion.
• B: The vote came after the deliberation; this confuses the result with the process that led to it.
• C: Two days of weighing a choice is the opposite of a hasty decision.
• D (correct): Deliberation is the noun for thinking over and talking through a choice carefully, which is what the board did for two days before voting.

Answer: C

Correct answer: reliance. Dependence is the -ence noun from depend, to rely on. The island relies on shipped fuel, which is why a delay hurt. Reliance fits. Direction matters: the dependable thing is relied on, while the dependent party does the relying.

• A: Dependability means being reliable for others; it describes a quality of the fuel supply, not the island's need for it.
• B: Independence means not needing outside help, the opposite of the situation described.
• C (correct): Reliance means needing or counting on something, which describes an island that needs shipped-in fuel.
• D: A shortage is the result of the delay; the word itself names the island's need, not the lack of fuel.

Answer: A

Correct answer: limited. The -ed form describes something that has had limits placed on it, while the -ive form describes the thing that imposes limits. The area is on the receiving end of a rule, so restricted means limited.

• A (correct): Restricted describes what has been placed under limits; the area is limited to badge holders.
• B: Limiting is the meaning of restrictive, the form that does the limiting; the area is not limiting anyone, it is being limited.
• C: Restriction is a noun from the same family and cannot describe the area.
• D: Abandoned means deserted; nothing suggests the area is unused, only that access is controlled.

Answer: D

Correct answer: continued without letup. Sustain means to keep something going, and the -ed form describes something already kept up over time. The clue "eleven straight hours" confirms it. Sustainable (can be kept up) and the injury sense of sustain are both traps.

• A: This is the meaning of sustainable, which looks ahead to what can be kept up; sustained looks back at what was kept up.
• B: This is the injury sense of the verb sustain, as in sustain a wound, which does not fit an effort that people kept going.
• C: Brief contradicts the eleven straight hours in the sentence.
• D (correct): Sustained describes something that has been kept up over a period, like eleven straight hours of pumping.

Answer: B

Correct answer: noticeable. The word describes the drop in noise, not a person. The -ible ending signals capacity: able to be perceived. So perceptible means noticeable, not observant (perceptive) and not as strong as enormous.

• A: Observant is the meaning of perceptive, which describes a person who notices things; a drop in noise cannot be observant.
• B (correct): Perceptible describes something that can be noticed, and a drop in noise that the driver can hear fits.
• C: Imaginary means not real, but nothing suggests the drop was only imagined.
• D: Enormous is much stronger than perceptible, which only says the change can be noticed.

Answer: A

Correct answer: eminent. Distinguished describes a person, and the clue about honors and long service points to respect. Eminent fits. Distinctive (characteristic) and distinctly (clearly) share the root but mean different things.

• A (correct): Eminent means highly respected and well known, which fits a general honored for forty years of service.
• B: Characteristic is the meaning of distinctive, a different family member that describes an easily recognized feature.
• C: This matches distinctly, the adverb meaning clearly, not a word that describes a respected person.
• D: Unknown is the opposite of a general who has been publicly honored.

Answer: B

Correct answer: easily set off. Sense is the shared base, but sensible, sensitive, and sensation drift apart. Sensitive means reacting strongly, and a detector that sounds over toast reacts strongly to little smoke. The answer is easily set off.

• A: Good judgment is the meaning of sensible, a false friend from the same family.
• B (correct): Sensitive means reacting strongly to small things, like a detector triggered by toast.
• C: Sensation is a noun from the same family meaning a feeling or exciting event; it cannot describe the detector.
• D: Outdated means old-fashioned, but the sentence calls the detector new; the clue is how easily it reacts.

Answer: B

Correct answer: financial. The examples in the sentence (jobs and tax income) are about money and trade, so economic means financial. Economical, by contrast, means thrifty or not wasteful.

• A: Thrifty is the meaning of economical, a false friend that describes spending little.
• B (correct): Economic means relating to money, jobs, and trade, matching lost jobs and lower tax income.
• C: Harmless judges the effects as mild; economic only names the kind of effect, not how bad it is.
• D: Environmental refers to nature and pollution, which the examples about jobs and taxes do not mention.

Answer: A

Correct answer: suggested. The speaker implies, and the listener infers. The foreman never said it outright but sent a signal, so implied means suggested. Concluded would describe the workers who read the signal.

• A (correct): To imply is to hint at something without stating it, as the foreman did by posting overtime instead of saying anything.
• B: Concluded is the meaning of inferred, which is what a listener does; the foreman is the one sending the hint.
• C: Announced means stated openly, but the sentence says he never said it.
• D: Denied means said it was not true, the opposite of signaling that the job was behind.

Answer: B

Correct answer: unbroken. Continuous means without any break, while continual means repeated with breaks between. A hum that runs all night has no break, so the answer is unbroken.

• A: This is the meaning of continual, which describes something that happens again and again with gaps between.
• B (correct): Continuous means with no break at all, like a hum that never stops all night.
• C: Occasional means happening now and then, far from a hum that runs all night.
• D: Loud describes volume, while continuous describes how long the sound lasts without a gap.

Answer: D

Correct answer: eager to win. Compete means to try to win against others, and the -itive ending makes an adjective for someone who tends to do that. Turning runs into races shows the desire to win. Competent (capable) is a false friend.

• A: Capable is the meaning of competent, a look-alike that refers to skill, not the wish to beat others.
• B: Cooperative means working together, the opposite of racing against teammates.
• C: Being well trained is about ability; the sentence is about his attitude toward winning.
• D (correct): Competitive describes someone who wants to beat others, shown by turning every run into a race.

Answer: C

Correct answer: moderate. Reasonable has a sense of fair or moderate, especially for prices and requests. The clue that it was close to what others charged rules out excessive. Logical belongs to rational, a different family member.

• A: Logical is closer to rational; a price is not described as following a chain of logic.
• B: Excessive means too high, the opposite of a price in line with other shops.
• C (correct): Reasonable describes a price that is fair and not extreme, and matching other shops shows it was moderate.
• D: Explained comes from the noun reason, a cause or explanation, but the sentence describes the size of the price.

Answer: A

Correct answer: logical. Rational comes from reason, meaning to think logically, and describes thinking or choices based on logic. Logical is the synonym. Watch the look-alike rationed and the family member rationalize, which means making excuses.

• A (correct): Rational means based on reason and logic, so logical is a direct synonym.
• B: Emotional means driven by feelings, the opposite of rational.
• C: Rationed looks similar but means shared out in limited amounts, as with food or fuel.
• D: This describes rationalize, which usually means inventing believable excuses rather than reasoning carefully.

Answer: D

Correct answer: successful. Effective describes something that produces the intended result, and effectiveness is that quality. The falls dropped to zero, so the paint worked. Successful fits.

• A: Influenced is the usual meaning of affected, a different word that is often confused with effect.
• B: Temporary means short-lived; the sentence describes results, not how long the paint lasted.
• C: Noticeable means easy to see, but effective says the paint did its job, not merely that it was visible.
• D (correct): Effective means producing the intended result, and fewer falls is exactly the result the paint was meant to bring.

Answer: B

Correct answer: bring about. Effect follows "to" here, so it is a verb, not the usual noun meaning result. The verb effect means to bring about. Affect, meaning to influence, is the look-alike trap.

• A: Influence is the meaning of affect, the verb most often confused with effect; to affect a change would mean to alter a change already happening.
• B (correct): As a verb, effect means to cause something to happen, so effect a change means bring about a change.
• C: Result is the meaning of effect as a noun, but here effect follows to, so it is a verb.
• D: Prevent means stop from happening, the opposite of causing a change.

Answer: B

Correct answer: reinforce. The -en suffix turns the adjective strong into a verb meaning make strong. Adding braces makes the pier stronger, so reinforce is the synonym.

• A: Strength is the noun for power; it cannot follow will as an action word here.
• B (correct): Reinforce means to make stronger by adding support, exactly what steel braces do.
• C: Weaken is the opposite action, making something less strong.
• D: Lengthen means make longer; it shares the -en ending but not the meaning.

Answer: D

Correct answer: resourceful. Inventive describes a person who produces original ideas, close to creative or resourceful. The clue about making a clamp from spare bits shows clever problem solving, and the tone is positive, so resourceful fits.

• A: Invention is the noun for the thing made; it cannot describe the mechanic.
• B: This borrows the sense of invent meaning to make up something false, but the sentence praises a practical fix.
• C: Forgetful has nothing to do with the clever repair in the sentence.
• D (correct): Resourceful means good at finding clever ways to solve problems, which fits a mechanic who built a clamp from scraps.

Answer: A

Correct answer: imaginative. Creative describes a quality of mind, not an object that was made. The design combined images in a new way, which shows imagination, so the answer is imaginative.

• A (correct): Creative describes an idea showing imagination, matching a design that combined images in a new way.
• B: Manufactured means produced, which points to the act of making something, not the imagination the design shows.
• C: Creation is the noun for the thing made; it cannot describe a design.
• D: Conventional means ordinary or traditional, the opposite of mixing elements in a new way.

Answer: C

Correct answer: damaging. Here the -ive adjective does mean causing the base action: a destructive thing destroys. Termites ruin wood, so destructive means damaging.

• A: Destruction is the noun for the damage itself and cannot replace an adjective.
• B: Harmless is the opposite of destructive.
• C (correct): Destructive means causing destruction, so damaging is the synonym.
• D: Thorough is the meaning of exhaustive, another -ive word that does not simply cause its base action.

Answer: B

Correct answer: make people obey. Enforce means to make sure a rule or law is obeyed. The police will apply the speed limit and see that drivers follow it, so the answer is make people obey.

• A: Ignore means pay no attention to, the opposite of enforcing a rule.
• B (correct): To enforce a rule is to make sure people follow it, which is what police do with a speed limit.
• C: Proposing a rule for a vote suggests an idea; the limit already exists and police are applying it.
• D: Repeal means cancel a rule, the reverse of making people obey it.

Answer: D

Correct answer: easily influenced. Impress, impression, impressive, and impressionable share a root but not a meaning. The suffix -able here means able to receive an impression, so an impressionable person is easily influenced, as the context of adopting others' opinions confirms. Impressive is the family false friend.

• A: Impressive is a different member of the impress family; it means causing admiration, not being shaped by others.
• B: This confuses the word with making a lasting impression; the volunteers are the ones affected, not memorable.
• C: This is the opposite; the volunteers changed their opinions quickly.
• D (correct): The sentence shows these volunteers taking on whatever opinion they heard last, which is being easily influenced.

Answer: C

Correct answer: flexible. Elastic first describes material that stretches and returns to shape. Applied to a schedule, it means flexible or adaptable. Read the setting to pick that sense.

• A: Rubbery fits the physical sense of elastic material, but a schedule is not made of rubber.
• B: Rigid means unable to bend or change, the opposite of a schedule that shifts.
• C (correct): In everyday use, elastic means able to adjust, like a schedule that shifts around family needs.
• D: Overloaded means having too much to do, which the example does not suggest.

Answer: A

Correct answer: extreme tiredness. Exhaustion is the -ion noun from exhaust, to tire out or use up. The clues "thirty hours" and "had to rest" point to fatigue. Thoroughness belongs to exhaustive, a family member with a shifted meaning.

• A (correct): Exhaustion is the state of being tired out, which explains why a team that searched for thirty hours had to rest.
• B: Thoroughness matches exhaustive, which means covering everything; the team's need to rest shows the word is about fatigue.
• C: Exhaust as a noun means waste gases from an engine, but exhaustion here describes the condition of people.
• D: Mild boredom is far too weak and has the wrong cause; thirty hours of hard work produces fatigue, not boredom.

Answer: A

Correct answer: ended. Conclude has two senses: to finish and to reach a judgment. The subject is a briefing, and the clue about going to lunch shows it stopped, so concluded means ended here. Conclusive is a different, stronger family member.

• A (correct): Conclude can mean to finish, and a briefing that stops at noon before lunch has ended.
• B: Inferred matches the other sense of conclude, reaching a judgment from evidence, but a briefing does not reason about anything.
• C: This is the meaning of conclusive, an adjective for evidence that settles a question, not a verb for a meeting stopping.
• D: Began is the opposite of ended.

Answer: D

Correct answer: reason given. Justification ends in -tion and follows a possessive, so it names a thing. Justify means to show an action is right, so a justification is the reason given. The flood warning is that reason.

• A: Defensible is the meaning of justifiable, an adjective; the sentence needs a noun naming the reason.
• B: Approval means official permission, but the sentence names a cause, not a sign-off.
• C: Punishment is unrelated to explaining why the hike was canceled.
• D (correct): A justification is the reason offered to show an action was right, here the flood warning.

Answer: C

Correct answer: view. Perception follows a possessive, so it is a noun. It names the act of noticing or a way of seeing something. Shoppers' way of seeing the neighborhood is their view.

• A: Observant is an adjective that matches perceptive; it cannot follow shoppers' as a noun.
• B: Noticeable matches perceptible, an adjective for something that can be noticed.
• C (correct): Perception can mean a way of seeing a situation, so shoppers' perception of the area is their view of it.
• D: Purchase is unrelated; the sentence is about how shoppers saw the area, not what they bought.

Answer: C

Correct answer: examine. Analyze is a verb meaning to study something by breaking it into parts and seeing how they relate. Examine is the closest synonym.

• A: Analysis is the noun for the examination; it does not fill the verb slot.
• B: Guess means decide without careful study, the opposite of going through every truck's records.
• C (correct): To analyze is to examine something closely by breaking it into parts.
• D: Ignore means pay no attention to, which is the reverse of studying closely.

Answer: B

Correct answer: orderly. Organized follows was and describes the toolbox, so it is an adjective naming a result: arranged in order. Organizational would mean relating to an organization. The answer is orderly.

• A: This is the meaning of organizational, a family member about organizations rather than tidiness.
• B (correct): Organized describes something arranged neatly, like a toolbox where every socket has its place.
• C: Cluttered means messy, the opposite of a toolbox where she can find anything.
• D: Nothing in the sentence concerns cost; the clue is about how easily she finds things.

Answer: A

Correct answer: modification. Adaptation names one change made to fit a new need, while adaptability names the general ability to adjust. The crew altered the hitch for a bigger load, so the answer is modification.

• A (correct): An adaptation is one specific change made to suit new conditions, here a change to the hitch.
• B: Flexibility is the meaning of adaptability, the capacity to adjust, not one specific change.
• C: Acceptance means agreeing to take something as it is, while the crew actually changed the hitch.
• D: Removal means taking the hitch off, but the hitch was changed so it could tow.

Answer: C

Correct answer: dependent. Direction matters. A reliable or dependable thing is relied on by others, while a reliant thing relies on something else. The station needs the panels, so reliant means dependent.

• A: Dependable means reliable, something others can count on; the station is the one doing the relying, and it shuts down in clouds.
• B: Self-sufficient means needing no outside help, the opposite of relying on sunlight.
• C (correct): Reliant means relying on something, and the station needs solar panels to keep working.
• D: Reluctant looks a little similar but means unwilling.

Answer: B

Correct answer: clearly. Distinctly is an -ly adverb telling how she heard. Distinguish means to tell apart, and something heard distinctly is easy to make out. Distinctive (characteristic) is a family member with a different meaning.

• A: This is built from distinctive, meaning typical and easy to recognize, not how well something was heard.
• B (correct): Distinctly is the adverb meaning clearly, which tells how the pilot heard the order despite the static.
• C: Faintly is the opposite of hearing an order clearly.
• D: Differently draws on the idea of telling things apart, but the sentence is about how plainly she heard.

Answer: C

Correct answer: difference. Variation follows "a slight," so it is a noun. From vary, to differ, a variation is a difference or slightly different version. Variable and varied are related forms with different meanings.

• A: Changeable is the meaning of variable, an adjective; it cannot follow a slight as a noun here.
• B: A wide assortment fits varied, describing a group of many kinds, not one small gap between two colors.
• C (correct): A variation is a change or a slightly different version, so a slight variation in color is a slight difference.
• D: A perfect match is the opposite of the doors differing in color.

Answer: A

Correct answer: shielding. Protective is the adjective in the protect family, describing something that protects. Masks that guard the welder from sparks and light are shielding.

• A (correct): Protective describes something that guards from harm, and a welding mask shields the face and eyes.
• B: Protection is the noun for the safety itself; it cannot replace an adjective describing masks.
• C: Decorative means for looks, but welding masks are worn for safety.
• D: Dangerous is the opposite of something that keeps the wearer safe.