Hot Words Midterm: Words and Sentences from Sentence Completion 1-14

______________ can be an insatiable drive, for sometimes even excessive wealth and material goods is just never enough. (Parsimony, thriftiness, frugality, austerity, avarice)

Avarice

_______________ screenplays will never make it in Hollywood because freshness and novelty will invariably be preferred over staleness. (Banal, Platitude, Prosaic, Overused, Derivative)

Banal

_____________ Bernadette always strives to be kindly toward others, without looking for praise, payback or recognition. (Lavish, Squandering, Prodigal, Largess, Benevolent)

Benevolent

Speaking in ________, Janice put her audience to sleep as she droned on and on, stringing together one overused expression after another. (prosaic, derivative, banal, vapid, clichés)

Clichés

Hands down, he is always the life of the party. With the karaoke mike in one hand and a cocktail frank in the other, it's no wonder they call him ______________ Claude! (Cordial, Congenial, Convival, Levity, Peaceable)

Convivial

_____________ and pleasant conversation is always welcome in this house; save the sarcasm and complaints for elsewhere. (Gregarious, Congenial, Cordial, Enmity, Gravity)

Cordial

Juan observed that speakers who tend to _____________ from their topics have more light-hearted and carefree personalties, while those who unconditionally stay on course tend to be more uptight and serious (digress, circumlocutory, rant, glib, bombast)

Digress

Peter has a ________________ air about him; when he speaks to his colleagues, it's as if he addresses them from up on a big, high horse. (swaggering, braggart, insolent, narcissism, disdainful)

Disdainful

_____________ is a communications skill that can get one places, especially if he or she wants to go into news broadcasting or radio announcing. (Prattle, Eloquence, Verbosity, Circumlocution, Ranting)

Eloquence

"Bold and _____________ conduct won't get you farther than the detention room or the demerit list," Mr. Mckee admonished as he looked sharply into the bully's eyes. (egotistical, smug, haughty, complacent, insolent)

Insolent

A natural born peacemaker among her friends and family, Laila makes a talented ________________ in the business world as well. (mitigator, allay, quell, pacified, mediator)

Mediator

______________ Janice is truly magnificent, especially when it comes to giving of her time, her help, and her dreamy homemade desserts. (Prodigal, Humane, Lavishly, Squandering, Munificent)

Munificent

_______________ on and on at record speed about nonsense, Desiree left her listeners with no clue as to what she was talking about but left them transfixed by her bright red motoring lips. (Prattling, Diffusing, Volubly, Ranting, Eloquently)

Prattling

_____________ Hunter has no friends; every time he talks, he mentions his latest athletic accolades, academic accomplishments, or financial windfalls. (Scornful, Presumptuous, Egotistical, Insolent, Pretentious)

Pretentious

______________ people make me feel uncomfortable; they are so quiet and disengaged that it makes them hard to read (Succinct, Reservedly, Reticent, Concise, Brevity)

Reticent

Ever since Mitchell made the runway at Bryant Park, he struts around with a broad-shouldered ____________ that says, "Check me out; I'm all that!" (ostentatious, egotistical, swagger, complacency, braggart)

Swagger

conflagration

a huge fire; inferno

labyrinth

a maze

enigma

a riddle or mystery

When my stomach is upset, nothing ____________ my discomfort as much as a bowl of warm, homemade minestrone soup, sprinkled with lemon zest. (alleviates, pacifies, conciliates, mediates, appeases)

alleviates

Although Rori preached _____________ to whomever she could, she was one of the most self-indulgent and egocentric individuals. (squander, benefactor, prodigally, altruism, benevolent)

altruism

Students at Middlebury High School can always count on kind-spirited and ______________, to spread benevolent words about her friends, teachers and acquaintances

amiable

First a disgruntled customer, then an uncooperative delivery truck driver--wherever salesclerk Jared turned, a red-eyed _________________ was there to glare at him in the face. (disputatious, predator, antagonist, belligerent, cantankerous)

antagonist

To adopt a more ____________ lifestyle, Grant froze his gym membership, said goodbye to his daily mocha latte from Starbucks, and remorsefully asked his cleaning lady if she would be kind enough to come just once a month. (penurious, avaricious, austere, mercenary, parsimonious)

austere

In politics, diplomacy and ___________ are on extreme opposite ends of the relationship continuum that exists between nations. (belligerence, polemics, captious, predator, quibbling)

belligerence

known for her ___, Hailey delivered a 40 second speech that pithily emphasized the many reasons why she would be the best pick for student government president. (reticence, brevity, terseness, taciturn, abbreviations)

brevity

pithy

brief and full of meaning and substance; concise

levity

carefree dispotion

miserly

careful with how money is spent; thrifty

A simple, sincere "I'm sorry" is often all it takes to _________ another, even after a long-standing disagreement (allay, mitigate, pacify, quell, conciliate

conciliate

brevity

conciseness in speech or writing

Rather than picturing a ferocious and potentially lethal blaze when you imagine a ________, visualize a scenic bonfire on the beach at night-- complete with toasted marshmallows, hot chocolate, and stargazing! (debacle, labyrinth, enigma, adversity, conflagration)

conflagration

Despite Michael's proficiency in mathematics, he still finds advanced algebra ______________ and attends extra-help sessions two mornings a week. (confounding, labyrinthine, turbulent, adversary, quagmire)

confounding

"Lose your ___________ tone," Miranda firmly remarked; "otherwise I am unwilling to continue this confrontational conversation with you." (antagonist, contentious, belligerence, cantankerous, predatory)

contentious

"Your story about the The Three Little Pythons sounds familiar and _________________, as if I have heard this tale before," remarked Mr. Johnson as he addressed the wide-eyed creative writer. (derivative, platitudes, insipid, triteness, hack)

derivative

Tonight's dinner conversation was downright ____; I was unable to recall even a morsel of wisdom or substance. (colloquial, grandiloquent, diffuse, ramble, garrulous)

diffuse

taciturn

disinclined to talk

"Please, just this once," Julie pleaded, "agree with what I am saying, and stop being so difficult and __________________." (animosity, disputatious, contention, polemic, predatory)

disputatious

eloquence

emotionally stirring speech

Even after being in her presence on several social occasions, Heidi remains an __________ because she hardly ever speaks and gives only brief answers when she is asked questions. (adversity, confounding, conflagration, enigma, turmoil)

enigma

amiable

friendly

disdainful

full of bitter scorn and pride; aloof

largess

generous giving

magnanimous

generous in overlooking insult or injury by others; rising above pettiness

turbulence

great unrest

avaricious

greedy

banal

hackneyed, trite, dull or stale

antagonism

hostility

reticent

inclined to be silent or uncommunicative in speech

The supervisor's suggestions to the presenter are both ___________________ and humdrum, completely lacking excitement and interest (derived, platitudes, insipid, triteness, hack)

insipid

The department chair advised Miss Prim to replace her serious, stiff teaching style with a ____________ approach that would engage and enliven her students---even spark them to laugh occasionally-- so that they would have more fun while learning (levity, affable, compatible, convival, jocular)

jocular

jocular

joke around

Benevolent

kindly, charitable

The dormitory seemed like a (an) ____________; the bedrooms, hallways, and common living quarters intersected each other in an intricate, maze-like pattern. (quandary, enigma, labyrinth, turmoil, quagmire)

labyrinth

lackluster

lacking brilliance or vitality; dull

insipid

lacking flavor

When nothing is new under the sun, the days seem long, dull, and __________________. (hackneyed, lackluster, platitude, trite, cliché)

lackluster

With a giving spirit, Donald practices ________________ each month by giving a portion of his earnings to his three favorite charities. (altruistic, largess, prodigality, lavish, benediction)

largess

If gravity is studying five hours for a precalculus test, then ____________ is sinking into the couch and sucking on a Ring Pop while watching glee for the umpteenth time. (amity, levity, enmity, affability, jocular)

levity

disputatious

likely to dispute or argue

Poised and _________, Lucille was born for the actor's playhouse and podium. (digressive, rhetorical, colloquial, bombastic, loquacious)

loquacious

The epitome of ___________, Luke sought to give of his time, resources, and encouragement whenever the opportunity arose. (squanderer, lavishness, magnanimity, munificent, prodigal)

magnanimity

The knuckles of the ____________ old man were perpetually white from strongly clutching his coins, dollars, and prized possessions. (penury, parsimony, austere, miserly, frugal)

miserly

Tears subsided and happy voices sounded once mother decided to _________ the feud between her son and daughter by actively sympathizing with each child's side of the story, no matter how divergent their tales were. (pacifier, appease, conciliate, mitigate, allay)

mitigate

A soft nightlight is one way to ______________ nighttime fears and spooky visions of monsters under the bed. (mollify, conciliate, mediate, placate, allaying)

mollify

Distressingly, the ____________ community was overwrought with one parent homes, drug peddling, and petty crime, all resulting from destitution (penurious, thrifty, mercenary, austerity, parsimonious)

penurious

Gabe is a master of ______________ because he can usually get his point across in three words or less! (tersely, reticence, abbreviation, pithiness, laconic)

pithiness

Opportunistic Pete practices one __________ move after another; he's either cheating, scheming, or planning his next lie. (polemical, disputatious, bellicose, cantankerous, predatory)

predatory

pretentious

pretending increased importance

supercilious

proud and scornful

confounding

puzzling

contentious

quarrelsome

belligerent

ready to fight

conciliate

reconcile

insolent

rude

altruistic

showing an unselfish concern for others

thrifty

showing care with how money and resources are spent or used

austere

showing self-control when it comes to foregoing luxuries

convivial

sociable

mollify

soothe

diffuse

spread out; wordy

Clichés

stale due to overuse

penurious

stingy, relating to great poverty

predator

strong adversary; theif

Ms. Bula would no longer put up with her supervisor's _________ attitude toward her, for she would not let herself get knocked down another peg (presumptuous, haughtiness, aloof, swaggering, supercilious)

supercilious

Far from a blabbermouth, Tina is as _____ a young lady as one can find.

taciturn

After being asked repeatedly to go on a movie date, Julian responded, "Not interested," to the girl on the other end of the phone. (quiescently, reservedly, concise, brevity, tersely)

tersely

Using the newspaper comics as wrapping paper and returning soda cans to the grocery store are two ways that a family can practice ________. (penury, avarice, mercenary, miserly, thrift)

thrift

mediate

to act as a go-between

alleviate

to lessen pain

mitigate

to make less severe

prattle

to talk foolishly

swagger

to walk around in a proud, showy manner

digress

to wander off

Despite the ________ of her busy afternoons-- homework, carpooling, dinner prep-- Annabelle strives to maintain an inner sense of order and calm (labyrinth, turbulence, enigma cryptic, precariousness)

turbulence

derivative

unoriginal; taken from something already existing

tersely

using few words

munificent

very generous

loquacious

very talkative

cordial

warm and friendly