English Vocab

quandary means

a state of confusion

impending means

approaching

misconstrue means

confusing

A critic once _____(e)d a book he disliked by saying, "This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force."

deride

or _____s someone else, out of rancor or jealousy.

deride

to make fun of; ridicule

deride

When Craig called Peggy "the perfect secretary," she was offended. He was complimenting her, but she _____(e)d his comment, thinking he had _____(e)d her by saying she belonged in a lesser position.

deride, misconstrue

Rumors about individuals can start when someone makes a(n) _____ statement

derogatory

expressing a low opinion; belittling

derogatory

when my friend said her teacher was "different," I wasn't sure if she meant the description to be complimentary or ______

derogatory

With the trial _____, the defense lawyer tried to forestall negative news stories by asking for a "gag" order. The lawyer argued that if _____ stories about his client's character were published, the trial would be a travesty of justice.

derogatory, impending

How do such unrealistic rumors get started? Sometimes they are _____(e)d.

fabricate

to make up (story, information) in order to deceive; invent a lie

fabricate

When the evidence does not _____ their theories, scrupulous researchers will report this honestly. But less conscientious researchers will flout scientific ethics and _____ fake "results" to appear to prove their theories.

fabricate, validate

Dwayne didn't show up for the final exam because he hadn't studied, but he _____(e)d a story about having a flat tire.

fabricated

macabre means

gruesome

Just before I was fired, I had a sense of _____ disaster; I could tell that something bad was about to happen.

impending

about to happen, imminent

impending

he left town because he knew his arrest for stealing a copy of the final exam was _____.

impending

Mel has a(n) _____ hobby-he visits places where murders were committed.

macabre

No story us too gruesome to make the sounds, not even the _____ take if the girls whose beehive hairdo housed a black widow spider.

macabre

suggestive of death and decay; frightful;causing horror or disgust

macabre

I was in a _____ over whether to study, practice the piano, or go to a movie with my friend Sal. To complicate things further, Sal wanted to see a(n) _____ horror film, and i dislike anything gruesome.

macabre, quandary

Delia ___(e)d Miguel's friendliness as romantic interest. She didn't realize that he already had a girlfriend.

misconstrue

Some readers _____(e)d this to mean that McDonald's was grinding up worms in its burgers—and the ridiculous story spread.

misconstrue

to misinterpret; misunderstand the meaning or significance of

misconstrue

To stop or forestall rumors, one thing is probably of _____ importance before accepting any story

paramount

We had skipped dinner in order to get to the play on time, so throughout the performance, food-not the drama-was _____ in our thoughts.

paramount

of greatest concern or importance; foremost; chief in rank or authority

paramount

Many surfers prefer _____ water to calmer waves. Their _____ goal is excitement and they get a feeling of exhilaration from confronting a dangerous situation.

paramount, turbulent

Ivan is in a _____ over his car. He doesn't know whether to get his old car the major repairs it desperately needs, take out a loan and buy his dream car, or spend the money he has on another used car he doesn't like.

quandary

Once a rumor gets started, people who hear it are sometimes in a _____.

quandary

a state of uncertainty or confusion about what to do; predicament

quandary

paramount means

supreme

fabricate means

to invent

deride means

to mock

validate means

to prove

And se there is an explosion of rumors, spreading fear, damaging reputations, and turning calm situations into _____ ones.

turbulent

The sun may seem to be shining calmly and steadily, but in fact, nuclear reactions inside the sun are causing a seething mass of _____ flames.

turbulent

full of wild disorder or wildly irregular motion; violently disturbed

turbulent

derogatory means

uncomplimentary

In the psychology class, the students were given an interesting team assignment. They had to make some statement about human nature and then _____ it by finding supporting evidence.

validate

to show to be true; prove; confirm

validate

be sure the facts _____ it.

validated

turbulent means

violent