Evidence & Research
Eight words for judging claims, evidence and explanations. Choose from each blank’s own options.
1. A reasonable possibility
conjecture / plausible
conjecture v. / n.
- Meaning: Form an explanation from incomplete evidence; such an explanation.
- Near-synonym: speculate
- Meaning contrast: Establish means support or determine something firmly; conjecture proposes an explanation before that point.
- The damaged inscription led the historian to conjecture that the vessel had belonged to a merchant, although its owner could not yet be identified.
- Family: conjectural
plausible adj.
- Meaning: Reasonable enough to be possible or believable.
- Near-synonym: credible
- Meaning contrast: Proven is stronger: a plausible explanation can be reasonable without being established.
- A seasonal shortage was a plausible explanation for the price rise, but the surviving records did not establish its cause.
- Family: plausibility; plausibly
Compare the meanings
- A possibility can be plausible before it is established. Conjecturing proposes an explanation; it does not certify it.
The museum’s busy week · 1
The museum’s free-admission week coincided with a rise in visits. A curator began to (V1) ______ that removing the fee had attracted more visitors. The explanation was reasonable, but a new exhibition had opened that same week, so it remained (V2) ______ rather than proven.
V1. Choose the word that completes the blank.
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- Conjecture fits a tentative explanation based on two suggestive but inconclusive changes.
V2. Choose the word that completes the blank.
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- Plausible marks a reasonable but unproven possibility.
Underline the clue for each choice. Explain why the closest alternative fails.
2. Evidence that adds support
substantiate / corroborate
substantiate v.
- Meaning: Supply evidence that gives a claim a firm basis.
- Near-synonym: support with evidence
- Meaning contrast: Merely assert means state a claim; substantiate means supply evidence for it.
- Dated receipts substantiate the claim that the workshop exported cloth before 1850.
- Family: substantiation
corroborate v.
- Meaning: Support an account or result with further evidence that agrees with it.
- Near-synonym: confirm; support
- Meaning contrast: Contradict means provide conflicting evidence; corroborate adds evidence that agrees.
- An independently kept diary corroborates the ship’s log by recording the same arrival date.
- Family: corroboration
Compare the meanings
- Substantiate stresses supplying a basis for a claim; corroborate often stresses agreement from further evidence. Their meanings overlap: use the whole context.
The museum’s busy week · 2
Daily visitor counts were then checked against the claim that the museum had become busier. The rise in recorded entries helped (V3) ______ that claim. An independently kept visitor log showed the same increase and therefore helped (V4) ______ the original count. Agreement about the rise, however, did not yet explain its cause.
V3. Choose the word that completes the blank.
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- Visitor counts showing the predicted rise supply evidence for the popularity claim.
V4. Choose the word that completes the blank.
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- Corroborate fits independent evidence supporting an existing record.
Underline the clue for each choice. Explain why the closest alternative fails.
3. An objection and a disproof
rebut / refute
rebut v.
- Meaning: Counter a claim with an argument or evidence.
- Near-synonym: counter
- Meaning contrast: Accept means agree with a claim; rebut means argue against it.
- The reviewer rebutted the claim that the sample was representative by pointing out that it included only volunteers.
- Family: rebuttal
refute v.
- Meaning: Show that a claim is false through decisive reasoning or evidence.
- Near-synonym: disprove
- Meaning contrast: Substantiate supports a claim; refute, in the precise sense used here, establishes that it is false.
- A dated photograph refuted the claim that the building had been demolished before 1920: it was still standing in 1931.
- Family: refutation
Compare the meanings
- Rebut stresses a counterargument; refute, in the precise sense used here, stresses successful disproof. A rebuttal does not automatically settle the issue.
The museum’s busy week · 3
A researcher used the exhibition’s popularity to (V5) ______ the claim that free admission alone caused the increase; this was an objection, not a conclusive account of the cause. Another critic alleged that every entry in the visitor log had been added later. An authenticated notebook containing the same entries, written during the week in question, was enough to (V6) ______ that specific allegation.
V5. Choose the word that completes the blank.
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- Rebut fits an evidence-based objection that does not yet settle the cause.
V6. Choose the word that completes the blank.
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- An authenticated original with the same entries defeats the specific universal claim that every entry was added later.
Underline the clue for each choice. Explain why the closest alternative fails.
4. A conclusion that earns confidence
scrutinize / cogent
scrutinize v.
- Meaning: Examine closely and critically.
- Near-synonym: examine closely
- Meaning contrast: Skim means read quickly for an overview; scrutinize means examine closely and critically.
- Before accepting the conclusion, the statistician scrutinized how missing responses had been handled.
- Family: scrutiny
cogent adj.
- Meaning: Clear, logically well supported and convincing.
- Near-synonym: convincing; well reasoned
- Meaning contrast: Incoherent means not logically connected; cogent describes reasoning whose connected points are convincing.
- The essay’s cogent explanation connected the change in prices to the records of supply and addressed the strongest alternative account.
- Family: cogently
Compare the meanings
- Scrutinizing is a process of checking; cogent describes the quality of the resulting reasoning. Confidence alone does not make an argument cogent.
The museum’s busy week · 4
Before making a recommendation, the researcher chose to (V7) ______ the records, checking counting procedures, opening hours and dates for hidden mismatches. Her final report separated the well-supported rise in visits from its unresolved cause. Because the explanation followed the evidence, addressed alternatives and stated its limits, the curator found it (V8) ______.
V7. Choose the word that completes the blank.
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- Scrutinize fits the detailed critical checking specified by the sentence.
V8. Choose the word that completes the blank.
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- Cogent describes the clear, evidence-supported reasoning praised in the sentence.
Underline the clue for each choice. Explain why the closest alternative fails.
Rachel · Class 01 · Vocabulary