Question

so he returned all manner of evasive replies, even the timeworn native excuse of illness. source: the fire trumpet a romance of the cape frontier in the sentence above, timeworn has the same or almost the same meaning as: sympathetic imperative undefinable commonplace

Explanation:

"Timeworn" means made less effective or valuable by long use or existence, which is similar to "commonplace" that implies being ordinary and frequently encountered. "Sympathetic" relates to showing compassion, "imperative" means crucial or commanding, and "undefinable" means not able to be defined.

Answer:

D. commonplace