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Question

Difficulty: MediumIdentifying Synonym and Near-Synonym Pairs

Far from being __________, the spectral anomalies observed in the atmosphere of the distant exoplanet were remarkably consistent across multiple observation cycles, leading researchers to discount the possibility of instrument noise. Which of the following two options, when inserted into the sentence, produce sentences that are equivalent in meaning?

  1. ephemeralAnswer
  2. transientAnswer
  3. C
    ubiquitous
  4. D
    pervasive
  5. E
    erratic
  6. F
    spurious

Answer

Selecting 'ephemeral' and 'transient' correctly completes the sentence to produce sentences with equivalent meaning.
The pivot phrase 'Far from being' signals an antonymic relationship with 'remarkably consistent.' The words 'ephemeral' and 'transient' both denote impermanence or short duration, providing exact contextual alignment and producing identical sentence meanings.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the sentence structural clues and contrast pivots.
The phrase 'Far from being __________' sets up a direct contrast with 'remarkably consistent across multiple observation cycles.'
The required word must mean short-lived, fleeting, or temporary.
2
Evaluate the vocabulary choices for contextual fit and synonymy.
'Ephemeral' and 'transient' both mean lasting for a very short time and fit the contextual contrast perfectly.
Both words complete the sentence to convey that the anomalies were not fleeting, but rather persistent and consistent.
3
Verify distractor options to eliminate false pairs and unpaired options.
'Ubiquitous' and 'pervasive' form a dictionary synonym pair but fail contextually. 'Erratic' fits contextually but lacks a matching pair. 'Spurious' is topically related to noise but lacks a synonym pair.
Sentence Equivalence requires selecting two words that both fit contextually and produce equivalent overall meanings.

Key Concept

Identifying Synonym and Near-Synonym Pairs in Context
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Topics

Identifying Synonym and Near-Synonym Pairs

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