ANSWER KEY

1. The correct answer is (A). Alter means to change. Altar means a platform or slab for worship.

 

2. The correct answer is (B). Discreet means cautious, careful, circumspect; intentionally unobtrusive or inconspicuous. Discrete means individually separate or distinct.

 

3. The correct answer is (B). Council means a committee or a body of people elected to manage affairs. Counsel as a noun means advice and as a verb means to give advice.

 

4. The correct answer is (A). Horde means a group of people. Hoard as a noun means a carefully guarded, often secret, collection or stash of valued objects and as a verb means to amass valued objects and hide or store away.

 

5. The correct answer is (B). Feint as a verb means to make a deceptive or distracting movement and as noun means a deceptive or pretended blow, thrust, or other movement. Faint as a verb means to lose consciousness for a short period of time, as a noun means a sudden loss of consciousness, and as an adjective means weak and dizzy or barely perceptible.

 

6. The correct answer is (A). Faze means to disturb or disconcert. Phase as a verb means to carry out in gradual stages and as a noun means a distinct period or stage in a process of change or forming part of something’s development.

 

7. The correct answer is (A). Peek means to look or glance quickly or furtively, especially through a small opening or from a concealed location. Peak as a verb means to attain the highest point of activity, development, or popularity and as a noun means the pointed top of something or the highest or most important point or level.

 

8. The correct answer is (A). Pique means to excite interest or curiosity.

 

9. The correct answer is (B). Pore means to meditate deeply. This usage rarely appears outside of the phrase “pore over.” Pour means to flow rapidly or prepare and serve a drink.

 

10. The correct answer is (A). An aisle is a passage between rows or shelves. An isle is an island or peninsula, especially a small one.

 

11. The correct answer is (B). Lightning is the electrical discharge within a cloud or from a cloud to the ground seen as a bright flash of light. Lightening means to make light or lighter or to illuminate or make clear.

 

12. The correct answer is (B). Ensure means to make certain something will occur. Insure means 1) to secure or protect someone against a possible contingency or 2) to arrange for compensation in the event of damage to or loss of property or injury to or the death of someone in exchange for regular advance payments to a company or government agency.

 

13. The correct answer is (A). Bear as a verb means to carry or support. Bare as a verb means to uncover and as an adjective means 1) not clothed or uncovered and 2) basic or simple.

 

14. The correct answer is (B). Complement as a noun means 1) something that completes or brings to perfection and 2) a number or quantity of something required to make a group complete. Complement as a verb means add to (something) in a way that enhances or improves it. Compliment as a noun is a polite expression of praise or admiration and as a verb means to politely congratulate or praise someone for something.

 

15. The correct answer is (A). Defuse means 1) to reduce the danger or tension in a difficult situation and 2) to remove the fuse from an explosive device in order to prevent it from exploding. Diffuse means to spread or cause to spread over a wide area or among a large number of people.

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