"Welcome to my humble ______," said the nomad, as he lifted a flap to allow me entrance to his colorfully furnished canvas home.

• abode

• amicable

• anonymous

• anology

Answer explanation

Put simply, an abode is a place where people live. It could be anything from a house, to a cave, to an apartment, to a van. If humans take shelter there, it can be called an abode.

Having lost his wife to the bubonic plague, the young man fell into _____ sadness that did not lift until life provided him with a new companion some 25 years later.

• affirmation

• abject

• annum

• anomaly

Answer explanation

Abject is often used to describe negative things and heighten the negativity. You might see loneliness, poverty, or sadness described as being abject. It describes the highest level of loneliness, poverty, or sadness a person could reach.

Having been caught with her hand in the cookie jar, the little girl hung her head and waited for the ______ she was sure she would receive from her parent.

• affect

• aggressive

• abode

• admonition

Answer explanation

An admonition is the noun form of the word admonish. Therefore, an admonition is the scolding you might receive if you have done something wrong.

As the baby's cries grew louder and louder, the other theatergoers became more and more ______ until someone was finally so fed I up that he asked the parents to take the baby outside.

• abandoned

• antipathy

• agitated

• anticipated

Answer explanation

To agitate means to work up or disturb. The big post that is sometimes in the middle of a clothes washing machine is called an agitator because it helps work the soap into a lather. You might also agitate a human or animal I by annoying them or frustrati frustrating them until they become all worked up.

Since they lived in different states, the young couple had spent a lot of time apart. When they finally saw each other again, they realized that they had each ______ the other, and were disappointed in the real person in front of them.

• aggregate

• anomaly

• aggrandized

• alternative

Answer explanation

If you notice the word grand in aggrandize, it may help you remember how this word is used. Generally, to aggrandize something is to make it grander; oftentimes people men- tally aggrandize and think of things as grander than they really are.

I've been very busy at work since my superior asked that I _____ all the available data on consumer habits and present it as a complete report to the CEO.

• aptitude

• aggregate

• aspire

• available

Answer explanation

When discussing the aggregate (as a noun), you're talking about the whole, not the parts. Aggregate can also be a verb in which you build up the parts to create a whole.

After the hubbub from the move settled down, the roommates forged an ____ relationship. While never becoming close friends, they were more than happy to bring in the other's mail and to live in relative peace and harmony.

• antipathized

• affluent

• amicable

• analogous

Answer explanation

To be amicable with other people means to get along with them. It is a warm word often used to describe friendly, but not overly friendly, relationships with coworkers, neighbors, and other acquaintances.

Finding my missing phone was _____ to trying to find a needle in a hay- stack-it was pretty hopeless.

• analogy

• analogous

• announced

• automated

Answer explanation

When two things are analogous to each other, they can be compared to one another. Often, this comparison will help clarify something about one of the things being compared. Think of the word analogy when thinking about what analogous means.

The scientist assured the worried townspeople that the strange lights at night were merely a meteorological ____ and not the signals of arriving aliens.

• alternative

• anticipated

• aggregate

• anomaly

Answer explanation

An anomaly is something strange or out of the usual pattern of things. If, for example, a very kind and sweet classmate lost their temper just one time, you might call that occurrence an anomaly.

While he loved his wife very much, he felt It nothing but _____ toward his in-laws, which put a definite strain on their marriage.

• antipathy

• antipathized

• bestow

• beget

Answer explanation

If you were to hate someone's guts, you might is a very negative feeling toward another person or thing. say you felt antipathy toward them.