(v.) to reject, renounce (To prove his honesty, the president _____ the evil policies of his wicked predecessor.)

(v.) to abolish, usually by authority (The Bill of Rights assures that the government cannot _____ our rights to a free press.)

(adj.) biting, bitter in tone or taste (Jill became extremely _____ and began to cruelly make fun of all her friends.)

(n.) bitterness, discord (Though they vowed that no girl would ever come between them, Biff and Trevor could not keep _____ from overwhelming their friendship after they both fell in love with the lovely Teresa.)

(n.) keen insight (Because of his mathematical _____, Larry was able to figure out in minutes problems that took other students hours.)

(v.) to sketch out in a vague way (The coach _____ a game plan, but none of the players knew precisely what to do.)

(n.) eagerness, speed (For some reason, Chuck loved to help his mother whenever he could, so when his mother asked him to set the table, he did so with _____.)

(n.) a cursed, detested person (I never want to see that murderer. He is an _____ to me.)

(n.) a strong dislike, repugnance (I know you love me, but because you are a liar and a thief, I feel nothing but _____ for you.)

(n.) praise (The crowd welcomed the heroes with _____.)

(v.) to take without justification (The king _____ the right to order executions to himself exclusively.)

(adj.) practicing restraint as a means of self-discipline, usually religious (The priest lives an _____ life devoid of television, savory foods, and other pleasures.)

(n.) a curse, expression of ill-will (The rival politicians repeatedly cast _____ on each others' integrity.)

(adj.) hard-working, diligent (The construction workers erected the skyscraper during two years of _____ labor.)

(v.) to coax by using flattery (Rachel's assistant tried to _____ her into accepting the deal.)

(n.) a gift or blessing (The good weather has been a _____ for many businesses located near the beach.)

(adj.) short, abrupt, dismissive (The captain's _____ manner offended the passengers.)

(v.) to strike with force (The strong winds _____ the ships, threatening to capsize them.)

(n.) an arrangement of food set out on a table (Rather than sitting around a table, the guests took food from our _____ and ate standing up.)

(v.) to polish, shine (His mother asked him to _____ the silverware before setting the table.)

(v.) to support, hold up (The column _____ the roof above the statue.)

(n.) something that offers support (The _____ supports the roof above the statues.)

(n.) tremendous noise, disharmonious sound (The elementary school orchestra created a _____ at the recital.)

(v.) to urge, coax (Fred's buddies _____ him into attending the bachelor party.)

(n.) an attempt to spoil someone else's reputation by spreading lies (The local official's _____ ended up ruining his opponent's prospect of winning the election.)

(adj.) subject to whim, fickle (The young girl's _____ tendencies made it difficult for her to focus on achieving her goals.)

(n.) mercy (After he forgot their anniversary, Martin could only beg Maria _____.)

(adj.) intellectually convincing (Irene's arguments in favor of abstinence were _____ that I could not resist them.)

(adj.) accompanying in a subordinate fashion (His dislike of hard work carried with it a _____ lack of funds.)

(n.) great fire (The _____ consumed the entire building.)

(adj.) penitent, eager to be forgiven (Blake's _____ behavior made it impossible to stay angry at him.)

(n.) puzzle, problem (Interpreting Jane's behavior was a constant _____.)

(n.) readiness to believe (His _____ made him an easy target for con men.)

(n.) greed, strong desire (His _____ made him enter the abandoned gold mine despite the obvious dangers.)

(adj.) brief to the point of being superficial (Late for the meeting, she cast a _____ glance at the agenda.)

(v.) to criticize openly (The kind video rental clerk _____ the policy of charging customers late fees.)

(v.) to make unclean, impure (She _____ the calm of the religious building by playing her banjo.)

(adj.) harmful (She experienced the _____ effects of running a marathon without stretching her muscles enough beforehand.)

(adj.) quiet, modest, reserved (Though everyone else at the party was dancing and going crazy, she remained _____.)

(v.) to belittle, depreciate (Always over-modest, he _____ his contribution to the local charity.)

(v.) to laugh at mockingly, scorn (The bullies _____ the foreign student's accent.)

(v.) to violate the sacredness of a thing or place (They feared that the construction of a golf course would _____ the preserved wilderness.)

(adj.) dried up, dehydrated (The skin of the _____ mummy looked like old paper.)

(adj.) light, airy, transparent (Sunlight poured in through the _____ curtains, brightening the room.)

(adj.) shy, quiet, modest (While eating dinner with the adults, the _____ youth did not speak for fear of seeming presumptuous.)

(adj.) rambling, lacking order (The professor's _____ lectures seemed to be about every subject except the one initially described.)

(v.) to conceal, fake (Not wanting to appear heartlessly greedy, she _____ and hid her intention to sell her ailing father's stamp collection.)

(v.) to be indecisive (Not wanting to offend either friend, he _____ about which of the two birthday parties he should attend.)

(adj.) extremely lively, enthusiastic (She became _____ upon receiving an acceptance letter from her first-choice college.)

(n.) impudence, nerve, insolence (When I told my aunt that she was boring, my mother scolded me for my _____.)

(adj.) radiant, splendorous (The golden palace was _____.)

(adj.) extremely bad (The student who threw sloppy joes across the cafeteria was punished for his _____ behavior.)

(v.) to weaken, exhaust (Writing these sentences _____ me so much that I will have to take a nap after I finish.)

(adj.) short-lived, fleeting (She promised she'd love me forever, but her "forever" was only _____: she left me after one week.)

(v.) to shun, avoid (George hates the color green so much that he _____ all green food.)

(adj.) fleeting, momentary (My joy at getting promoted was _____ because I discovered that I would have to work much longer hours in a less friendly office.)

(v.) to show, reveal (Christopher's hand-wringing and nail-biting _____ how nervous he is about the upcoming English test.)

(v.) to free from guilt or blame, exonerate (My discovery of the ring behind the dresser _____ me from the charge of having stolen it.)

(adj.) loathsome, detestable (Her pudding is so _____ that it makes me sick.)

(adj.) urgent, critical (The patient has an _____ need for medication, or else he will lose his sight.)

(v.) to make amends for, atone (To _____ my selfishness, I gave all my profits to charity.)

(v.) to obliterate, eradicate (Fearful of an IRS investigation, Paul tried to _____ all incriminating evidence from his tax files.)

(adj.) existing, not destroyed or lost (My mother's _____ love letters to my father are in the attic trunk.)

(v.) to praise, revere (Violet _____ the virtues of a vegetarian diet to her meat-loving brother.)

(adj.) incorrect, misleading (Emily offered me cigarettes on the _____ assumption that I smoked.)

(adj.) meticulous, demanding, having high and often unattainable standards (Mark is so _____ that he is never able to finish a project because it always seems imperfect to him.)

(adj.) silly, foolish (He considers himself a serious poet, but in truth, he only writes _____ limericks.)

(adj.) fruitful, fertile (The _____ tree bore enough apples to last us through the entire season.)

(adj.) wild, savage (That beast looks so _____ that I would fear being alone with it.)

(adj.) having a foul odor (I can tell from the _____ smell in your refrigerator that your milk has spoiled.)

(adj.) flowery, ornate (The writer's _____ prose belongs on a sentimental Hallmark card.)

(adj.) troublesome or irritable (Although the child insisted he wasn't tired, his _____ behavior—especially his decision to crush his cheese and crackers all over the floor—convinced everyone present that it was time to put him to bed.)

(adj.) talkative, wordy (Some talk-show hosts are so _____ that their guests can't get a word in edgewise.)

(n.) lofty, pompous language (The student thought her _____ would make her sound smart, but neither the class nor the teacher bought it.)

(adj.) drawn to the company of others, sociable (Well, if you're not _____, I don't know why you would want to go to a singles party!)

(adj.) unoriginal, trite (A girl can only hear "I love you" so many times before it begins to sound _____ and meaningless.)

(adj.) unlucky (My poor, _____ family never seems to pick a sunny week to go on vacation.)

(n.) a ranting speech (Everyone had heard the teacher's _____ about gum chewing in class before.)

(v.) to have given a ranting speech to (But this time the teacher _____ the class about the importance of brushing your teeth after chewing gum.)

(n.) domination over others (Britain's _____ over its colonies was threatened once nationalist sentiment began to spread around the world.)