To deter is to discourage a person or group from doing something. Fear of retaliation may deter our enemies from attacking.

Hostile means antagonistic or unfriendly. It is the nature of cats to be hostile to dogs.

To utilize is to make practical use of. You can utilize the microwave for quick defrosting.

To abdicate is to give up formally or to resign. King Edward abdicated from the English throne to marry a divorced woman.

Prominent means sticking out, noticeable, or outstanding. Jimmy Durante had a prominent nose.

A boundary is a border. Mexico shares a boundary with the state of Texas.

Illiterate means unable to read. One who is literate, educated and is able to read. The prefix il-creates the negative. Many of the homeless are unemployable because They are illiterate.

An orator is one who speaks. (Can you see the root oral?) The keynote speaker at the convention was a superb orator.

To corroborate is to strengthen, to support, or to confirm. The bloody knife served to corroborate the eyewitness’s testimony.

To ratify is to give official sanction to or to approve. If three more states ratify the proposed amendment, it will become a part of our Constitution.

To expedite is to speed up the action or to send quickly. The Latin derivation of this word is “to free one caught by the feet”. You can expedite the delivery of mail by using ZIP Code plus four.

Turbulent means unruly or agitated. As the airplane passed through turbulent air we all felt rather queasy.

Tenacious means holding on tightly or persistent. The tenacious salesman calls twice a week between 5 and 7 p.m.

Pertinent means relevant. Testimony is admitted in court only if it is pertinent to the charges in the case.

Dogmatic means dictatorial or opinionated. The word has to do with doctrine or dogma, not with dogs. My uncle is so dogmatic that he refuses to even listen to my point of view.

One who is unscrupulous is not restrained by ideas of right and wrong. The unscrupulous stockbroker used inside: information to sell before the stock price plummeted.

Wily means crafty or sly. The wily wolf outwitted Red Riding Hood.

Blatant means loud and obtrusive. The misspelling in the address was a blatant error in an otherwise excellent letter.

A pretext is a false reason or an excuse. Illness was his pretext for absence from school; actually he went to the beach.

Acumen is. keenness and quickness in understanding and dealing with a situation. Acumen with respect to foreign cultures is a great asset in the diplomatic corps.

To recede is to pull back or move backward, House and trees seem to recede as we ride past in a train.

Being fastidious means giving careful attention to detail. She is fastidious about her food.

Being surly means behaving in a rude bad-tempered way. He become surly and rude toward me.

Being frugal means avoiding waste. First; you must learn to be frugal.

To deplete is to use up all the resources. or materials. Unfortunately, we have depleted all the fuels and our car couldn’t move.

Force is an influence which produces a change in physical quantity. So I have found that civilization is a force.

Being extinct means no longer in existence. Within the environment worsen, many species become extinct.

To thwart is to hinder or prevent the efforts of others. Our plan for a picnic is thwarted by the rain.

Stipend is a sum of money allotted on a regular basis, usually for some specific purpose. I wish to be awarded a stipend for further research.

Being reputable means having a good reputation. We only use reputable carriers.

The relationship here is one of order or sequence. A dessert is eaten at the end of a meal. A finale is played at the end of a performance. Lunch is eaten after breakfast, but it’s a different meal, not part of the same one, so the bridge doesn’t fit

The words in the stem are opposites. The only pair of opposites among the choices is in (E): accept is the opposite of reject, as confirm is the opposite of deny.

A tower is the rail structure that enables planes to navigate safely at an airport. A lighthouse is the tall structure that enables ships to navigate safely at the shoreline.

Fidelity is the opposite or absence of unfaithfulness. Honesty is the opposite or absence of deceit. The words in (B) and (A) are synonyms, and there’s no clear relationship between the words in (C) and (D).

If something is widespread, it’s not limited. If something is broad, it’s not narrow. The words in (C) are synonyms, as are the words in (A) and (E). (B) is a little tough; international seems to suggest sophisticated, which is the opposite of provincial, but the words are in the opposite order as those presented in the stem,

A saw is a tool used by a carpenter. A plow is a tool used by a farmer. No other occupation listed here requires the use of a plow.

A sword is used against an opponent in fencing, as a glove is used in boxing.

Here the relationship is one of degree, with the second word being much stronger than the first. You can encourage or suggest that someone do something, and they may or may not do it. But if you demand or order them to do it, then they must. The words in (B) and (D) are synonyms, and the words in (A) are opposites. Condemn in (C) is stronger than to reprimand, not the other way around, so the order is wrong.

A grin is a facial expression showing delight. A frown is a facial expression showing dismay. (Dismay is a mixture of fear and discouragement. ) A laugh in (A) expresses happiness, but it isn’t precisely a facial expression.

Something mysterious is not understand- able. Something obscure is not clear.

Scissors are specifically used to cut, just as a pencil is specifically used to write.

The specific topping for pasta is sauce; The specific topping for toast is jam. A Noodle (D) is made out of dough, and Tomato (A) grows on a vine.

The outer shell of bread is the crust. The outer shell of an orange is the rind.

A captain is the leader of a team, just as a president is the leader of a republic. Watch out for (B)—it mentions the word sports, which fits the subject matter of the stem pair, but does not match the bridge.

Olfactory refers to one’s sense of smell, just as tactile refers to one’s sense of touch.

A ruler is a tool used to measure something, just as a camera is a tool used to photograph something.

Tiptoe is a quiet kind of walk, as whisper is a quiet kind of speech. A rasp (A) is a harsh sound in one’s throat.

A kernel is a central piece of information. Trivia is an unimportant piece of information.

A liar is a person who fibs, just as a toady is a person who flatters. A politician (A) by definition is not a person who campaigns, but: rather, a person who engages in politics. To tally (C) is to count up: a banker may tally money, but he may also do other things like lend money.

A nap is a short sleep just as a snack is a short meal. A biscuit can be a type of snack, but we are looking for a word that fits the bridge “is a short”.

The base of a building is its foundation. The base of a plant is its root, (B). If you chose (A), (C), or (E), you were probably confusing the vegetative meaning of “plant” with, say, a manufacturing plant. A grotto is a cave.

Olfactory refers to anything having to do with the sense of smell. So our bridge could be, the nose is the organ of the olfactory sense. Similarly, the ear is the organ of the sense of hearing or auditory sense, (D).

Irk means to annoy, disgust or irritate. So the relationship here is of opposites: something that irks is not soothing. In the same way, something that supports is not weakening or undermining, (B). Irritating, (C), is second-best here; it would go better with soothing than with support.

Something illegible is impossible to read; just as something invisible is impossible to see, (E). Something broken is not by definition impossible to fix.

Tact is sensitivity, skill at doing on saying the right thing with people. So tact is a necessary quality for a diplomat. – In the same way, agility is a necessary. quality for a gymnast, which makes (C) correct. Parsimony, (E), or stinginess is a quality a philanthropist had better not have, since a philanthropist is someone who gives generous amounts of money to charity. Similarly, a judge: (D), should be unbiased, not biased, Which means having a declared preference for one side or the other. Victims may be vulnerable, (B), but you wouldn’t ordinarily say that vulnerability is a necessary quality for being a victim. And training in (A) is too vague; it’s not quality specific to the practice.of medicine.

Ravenous means extremely hungry. So to be ravenous is to be in an extreme state of hunger. In the same way, to be furious is to be in an extreme state of Indignation, (D). None of the other choices has a first word that’s an extreme version of the second word: Pliable, (E), means flexible, while obstinacy is stubbornness, so these words are opposites. The same is true for (A) and (B). Tenacity, (C), stubborn persistence; being smart is not being in an extreme state of tenacity.

To amplify sound is to make it stronger or louder. To bolster something means to strengthen it. In the same way, then, to bolster courage is to make it stronger. Getting the right answer here depends a little on knowing common usage. You can’t bolster a smell, (C), insomnia or sleeplessness, (D), or light or silence, (B), (E).

Reverse the order of the stem pair: you attend a lecture in an auditorium. In the Same way, you attend a concert in a theater, (D). This bridge clearly doesn’t work on (A), (C), or (E). You attend religious services, not religion itself, in temple, (B).

Philanthropic means generous, giving; benevolence is the quality of generosity. So our bridge might be, a philanthropic act is evidence of benevolence. In the same way, a miserly act is evidence of stinginess, (E). Ostentatious, (D), means showy or extravagant.

Spurious is simply a fancy word meaning fake. So we’ve got a relationship of opposites here: something spurious has no authenticity. Similarly, something laughable has no seriousness, (C). Lavish, (E), means extravagantly expensive. Abject means miserable; subjectivity may or may not be miserable, (A). There’s no obvious bridge between the words in (B) , and in (D), totalitarian refers to an imposing system of government, so it is not the opposite of completeness.