Though the alloy wasn’t ___ at room temperature, when heated it became soft and easy to work with.

I was surprised when Gerald’s worst enemy delivered a moving ___ at the funeral.

Because he was so naturally ___, George found the detailed work of accounting to be perfectly suited to his strengths.

When Hilary got her twelfth piercing in the same ear I joked that her ear was ___ and could be easily torn off.

Never a particularly ___ employee, Lou was finally fired after showing up more than an hour late and completely unprepared for a meeting with the firm’s biggest clients.

Because she’d been ___ in paying her bills for more than four months, Larissa’s electricity was cut off by the power company.

After a week-long dog training program, Fluffy was more ___ and calm than ever before.

Because the budget committee hadn’t ___ enough funds, we had to pay for the annual Christmas party with our own money.

I was ambivalent about Rory’s generous gift: while of course I loved the beautiful diamond ring, I couldn’t help feeling that it was a bit ___ for just a third date.

Don was ___ by his boss for showing up late again.

To a normal person, the difference between an African swallow and a European swallow may seem ___, but to a trained ornithologist, it’s both obvious and significant.

Sergeant McCoy’s ___ on the battlefield was legendary, but at home he was deathly afraid of both spiders and butterflies.

Due to a(n) ___ of rain, the region’s farmers faced the prospects of a woeful harvest.

Ned’s excuse for failing to do his homework was ___: he claimed aliens had come to his home and told him if he did it, they’d shoot him with super laser guns.

Because she was such a(n) ___ defender, Sheryl’s opponents generally avoided passing the ball to her side of the field entirely.

It may be hard to believe now, but there was a time when philosophers hoped to make their field into a(n) ___ branch of knowledge, like the physical sciences.

Hoping to ___ compliments from her colleagues, Imelda wore her prettiest dress to the company party.

Once one of the Party’s ___ supporters, Brett had become disgruntled by its reversal on certain key political issues.

Though Roy’s analysis was both ___ and concise, the tone of voice in which he delivered his ideas was so grating that he was unable to persuade his audience.

After Thanksgiving dinner my already bulbous stomach was so ___ that I had to unbutton my pants.

The way the opposing team ___ after beating us made me so angry I vowed to beat them next time we played.

Though Edna was smart, her work was so ___ that her professors were constantly disappointed by her effort.

As the most ___ resident of the dorm, Leroy made sure to meet and greet every new student as they moved in, and he quickly became the center of dorm social life.

Though her previous films had been widely panned by critics, the director’s newest movie was ___ as a masterpiece.

When his offer of a reward failed to motivate his daughter to master her vocabulary, Mr. Hibbert began to threaten her, reasoning that perhaps he could ___ her into studying.