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Difficulty: MediumIdentifying Synonym and Near-Synonym Pairs

Although early twentieth-century astrophysicists initially regarded cosmic microwave background predictions as mere theoretical ______, subsequent observational evidence firmly established these calculations as foundational principles of modern cosmology. Which TWO of the following answer choices, when inserted into the sentence, produce completed sentences that are most similar in meaning?

  1. speculationsAnswer
  2. conjecturesAnswer
  3. C
    dogmas
  4. D
    tenets
  5. E
    curiosities
  6. F
    truisms

Answer

The two words that complete the sentence to produce sentences with equivalent meaning are 'speculations' and 'conjectures'.
The contrast transition 'Although' signals an opposition between the initial status of cosmic microwave background predictions and their ultimate recognition as 'foundational principles.' The blank therefore requires words signifying tentative, unverified theoretical suppositions. Both 'speculations' and 'conjectures' fit this precise contextual demand and are functional near-synonyms, yielding sentences with identical meaning.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze structural contrast clues in the sentence stem.
The concessive transition 'Although' sets up a contrast between how astrophysicists 'initially regarded' predictions and how subsequent evidence 'firmly established' them as 'foundational principles.'
The blank requires noun choices that describe tentative, unproven ideas to contrast with established principles.
2
Identify synonymous word choices that fit the required meaning.
'Speculations' and 'conjectures' both mean tentative conclusions or hypotheses formed without firm proof.
Inserting either word produces a sentence expressing that predictions were viewed as mere unproven theoretical ideas.
3
Evaluate distractor options against error patterns.
'Dogmas' and 'tenets' form a valid synonym pair but conflict with the contrast signal. 'Curiosities' fits contextually as a single word but has no synonym partner. 'Truisms' contradicts the unverified nature of the initial predictions.
GRE Sentence Equivalence requires both contextual appropriateness and semantic equivalence between the chosen pair.

Key Concept

Identifying Synonym and Near-Synonym Pairs in Sentence Equivalence Contexts
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Topics

Identifying Synonym and Near-Synonym Pairs

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