Ease Into Prep with a GRE^® Question of the Day

Read the sentence, looking for clues

In this sentence, the blank needs to accord with the idea that the stories about Washington "lack the ring of truth."

Predict an answer

The right answer will mean something like "false."

Select the choice that most closely matches your prediction

(D) apocryphal means "of doubtful authenticity," which fits the prediction perfectly. (A) anachronistic means "occurring out of its proper time"; while this could be a reason that a story is false, there's no support for this specificity. (B) illogical means "against reason"; however, just because something is unreasonable doesn't mean it's incorrect. (C) unabridged means "complete, uncut," which doesn't say anything about falsity. (E) authentic means "true or real," which is the opposite of what's needed.

Check your answer

Many stories about George Washington have been passed down through the generations, but a significant number of them lack the ring of truth and are apocryphal.

TAKEAWAY: Make sure the answer you pick matches the level of specificity in the sentence; if it's too specific, there may not be support for it.