GRE Sentence Completion

Some professors find teaching _____ as having to prepare for lectures and conduct office hours prevents them from focusing on their research.

untoward

Academe's reputation for free inquiry, ____ discourse, and practical knowledge is in tatters.

untrammeled

She looks back with amazement at the ____ single life she enjoyed not so long ago.

untrammeled

The whole notion of living _____ inspired the American Revolution and was enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

untrammeled

For years, Mark talked up his Ping Pong game, yet when he entered the office tournament, his much _____ skills suddenly failed him and he lost all three games he played.

vaunted

He was ______ in the press for his comments.

vilify

Todd was noble after the divorce, choosing to say only complimentary things about Barbara, but Barbara did not hesitate to ____ Todd.

vilify

claimed that she had been ____ by the press because of her conservative views

vilify

Audiences are hungry for a character who might ____ not only his clients, but the system itself.

vindicate

Authoritarian leaders elsewhere—in Russia and Turkey, for example—have similarly jumped to criticise America, and, by implication, try to ____ their own repression.

vindicate

Even seven Tour de France wins cannot ____ Lance Armstrong in the eyes of the public--that the athlete used performance enhancing drugs invalidates all those wins.

vindicate

Due to ____ behavior and crude language, the drunk man was thrown out of the bar and asked to never return.

wanton

Now Senate Republicans have given Trump a pass on another ____ abuse of power.

wanton

The climate effects of such ____ deforestation will partially vitiate any environmental gains from the collapse in ground and air transport this spring.

wanton

Each decade has its own ____ —the 1990's was a prosperous time in which the promise of the American Dream never seemed more palpable.

zeitgeist

____ for our failure to reduce petroleum imports falls across the political spectrum.

сulpability

____ in climate have become the norm: rarely a week goes by without some meteorological phenomenon making headlines.

Aberration

To address the limitations of prior studies, the researchers analyzed more than 45,000 reports of adverse events resulting from Botox treatments from the US Food and Drug Administration's ____ Event Reporting System.

Adverse

He had never blushed in his life; no humiliation could ____ him.

abash

At about six, as the heat _____, people began to crowd the streets and marketplaces, and to fill the cafés.

abate

Politicians would _____ their starring roles in the spotlight and become members of the supporting cast.

abdicate

As for Putin's desire to lay waste to Chechnya, Western leaders largely dismiss it as an _____ ...

aberration

The U.S. establishment treated this grassroots movement almost as an ____ , virtually ignoring it.

aberration

The singer was ____ by a skillful accompanist.

abet

____ the commission of a crime

abet

a plan that is currently being held in _____

abeyance

We believe we know that Americans ____ extremes and mistrust ideology.

abhor

Mary's book is filled with _____ horror at the monster her own family created.

abject

a strict religious sect that ____ the luxuries, comforts, and conveniences of the modern world

abjure

_____ some long-held beliefs when she converted to another religion

abjured

Monks practice ____ of the material aspects of human life.

abnegation

although once common, torture is now an ____ to the civilized peoples of the earth

abomination

considered war ____

abomination

an ____ attempt to recover the sunken pirate ship

abortive

They live in a region where oil ____.

abound

a city that ____ with art museums and private galleries

abound

For many Democrats and environmental groups, Zinke's ______ actions are just as alarming.

aboveboard

The committee tried to be fair and ____ in its hiring.

aboveboard

Tess wished to ____ her visit as much as possible ...

abridge

_____ a dictionary by omitting rare words

abridge

attempts to ____ the right of free speech

abridge

In 2018, President Trump ____ the 2015 nuclear deal negotiated by President Obama and imposed crippling economic sanctions on Tehran.

abrogate

The company's directors are accused of ____ their responsibilities.

abrogate

There was an ____ change in the weather.

abrupt

This ____ shift in government regulation is occurring against the backdrop of climate change, which is taking a toll on streams and rivers throughout the desert Southwest.

abrupt

Because diamonds are portable, universally valuable and virtually untraceable, a would-be purchaser on credit could easily ______ with a cache of diamonds.

abscond

Several prisoners ____ from the jail.

abscond

Skadden has continued to publicly defend its Ukraine work, casting the Tymoshenko report as a cleareyed, independent assessment that did not ____ Mr. Yanukovych of wrongdoing.

absolve

There are apparently also some exes who feel a pandemic is the right time to _____ themselves of their relationship sins.

absolve

asked the priest to _____ his sins

absolve

But Ronaldo and Messi have long followed comparatively _____ lifestyles.

abstemious

Despite rumors of a dalliance with a female gymnastics star, Putin publicly presents himself as upright and _____.

abstemious

She is known as _____ eater and drinker.

abstemious

the ____ calculations of mathematicians

abstruse

But the couple said homeless people living in the canal that ____ their neighborhood had made staying impossible.

abut

our land _____ a nature preserve, so we see a lot of wildlife

abut

They were living in ____ ignorance.

abysmal

_____ living conditions, where it is so dirty and awful

abysmal

Critics ____ her performance, because it was great

acclaim

Following Rapione, _____ The Handmaid's Tale author Margaret Atwood took the stage to receive her Lifetime Achievement Award before Aja Naomi King presented L'Oréal's Women of Worth award.

acclaim

She deserves ____ for all her charitable works.

acclaim

He was convicted as an ____ to murder.

accomplice

The great difference is that the watchman is now a willing _____.

accomplice

the thief and his ____ were eventually caught and brought to justice

accomplice

He was ____ by a stranger on the street.

accost

She was so famous that people would ____ her on the street and ask for an autograph.

accost

The other prevailing theory was called hierarchical ____, where objects from different areas of the solar nebula would collide to form an object.

accretion

There has been a steady ____ of power by the executive, often as a result of a supine legislative branch.

accretion

There was an ____ of ice on the car's windshield.

accretion

Belarus people, an adviser to Cuomo, had ___ words for Lukashenko.

acerbic

Schwartz even appeared on TV talk shows as Bing, plugging his books and presenting commentary in the same ____ tone of his writing.

acerbic

We whispered a steady stream of ___ comments as the lecturer Chaun droned on

acerbic

the film's most ____ critics, who never are satisfied

acerbic

Sourced from Provence, the purple plant is balanced out by ____ Italian bergamot and spicy-sweet tonka bean.

acidulous

a gently ____ writing style that never becomes annoying

acidulous

a slightly____ drink that is far more refreshing than the overly sweet iced tea that is also available

acidulous

For real foodies, though, a robot that can turn its hand to almost anything culinary would be the ____ of automation.

acme

In practice, social democracy has probably reached its ___ in the Nordic countries, where the left has ruled governments for most of last half-century

acme

a system that is the ____ of efficiency and fame

acme

the ____ of their basketball season was their hard-won victory over last year's state champs

acme

With her trademarked KonMari decluttering method, Ms. Kondo has led millions of ____ to purge their closets, basements and pantries.

acolyte

a highly influential economist whose ______ can be found at many major universities

acolyte

a popular professor dining with a few of her _____

acolyte

Faced with the likelihood of lawsuits, the NFL ____ in late February and allowed juniors to enter the draft.

acquiesce

They demanded it, and he ____.

acquiesce

Murkowski voted to ____ Mr. Trump in the Senate impeachment trial in February.

acquit

The Valencias also had asked Ezra to _____ them, but the judge denied that request.

acquit

The jury _____ the defendant because there wasn't enough evidence to convict him of the crime.

acquit

Mergers and acquisitions in the industry have ground nearly to a halt over the past year amid an increasingly _____ technological rivalry between the US and China.

acrimonious

The arrest of the Russians marked an unprecedented spike in tensions between Belarus and Russia, which often have _____ disputes despite their close ties.

acrimonious

Even someone like Buffett, nearly knighted for his investment ____, may need investor behavior reminders.

acumen

Her political _____ won her the election.

acumen

Here was a man of extraordinary sensitivity, political ____, spiritual power, and sexual wildness; a free spirit if ever there was one.

acumen

It's a politically ____ film that does not oversimplify the issues.

acute

There are already reports that, even with the league restarting, many owners are suffering ____ financial distress.

acute

Unfortunately, this also provides a way in which illnesses like COVID-19 can cause both ____ neurological symptoms and long-lasting issues in the brain.

acute

an ____ sense of humor

acute

The ____ is true: Time has its own healing powers.

adage

There's an _____ in business that no one is irreplaceable.

adage

that old ____, "the early bird gets the worm"

adage

I am keen not to share my genetic code with my insurer, I am keen that my doctor should know it and use it, but I am ____ to the point of fanaticism that it is my decision.

adamant

Many travelers who are ____ about going somewhere—maybe anywhere—are desperate to avoid crowds.

adamant

The other issue which Shear is ____ about is the representation of minorities.

adamant

We've tried to talk him into coming with us, but he's ____ about staying here.

adamant

an ______ insistence on doing things his own way

adamant

remained ____ about getting the actor's autograph even after he had disappeared backstage

adamant

That is why _____ sometimes wear Hawaiian shirts, say those who track them.

adherent

The ___________________ of Christianity / socialism.

adherent

the Flat Earth Society surely doesn't have many _____

adherent

the bandage is made from a mildly _____ fiber

adherent

But it's Sainte-Marie's less-well-known life as a computer geek—and an ____ professor of digital art, Native American studies, and philosophy at several universities—that brings her to midtown Manhattan today.

adjunct

Estelle Erasmus is a writing coach and ____ writing professor at New York University.

adjunct

In A.D. 400 western Europe was merely a geographic expression. Roman civilization was centered on the Mediterranean, and France, England, and the Rhine valley were mere _____ of the Mediterranean world.

adjunct

Massage therapy can be used as an ____ along with the medication.

adjunct

Much more research is needed, of course, but these studies show that someday, scientists may figure out how to use the natural power of frankincense as an _____ to traditional cancer treatment.

adjunct

The website is designed as an ____ to the book.

adjunct

There is a terrible shortage of jobs in the universities, where, increasingly, men and women with Ph.D.s hang on to various forms of underpaid ____ posts. Believe me, it happens at Harvard, too.

adjunct

"Please be silent while I tell my story," LaPautre _____.

admonish

... users are ____ to change passwords regularly

admonish

Bridenstine has had no problem _____ Musk in the past, usually in stern but lukewarm tones.

admonish

Cops are, from the first day in the academy, _____ that juveniles must not be shot unless in dire emergency ...

admonish

Others were eating off the trunks of their cars, with parents ____ kids in the backseat to watch out for the upholstery.

admonish

The sign _____, "Watch your step."

admonish

my physician is always _____ me to eat more healthy foods

admonish

At Teutonic Wine Company, Gamble will partner with ____ professionals in drummer Mike Lockwood and bassist Todd Sickafoose, Ani DiFranco's longtime tour bandmate.

adroit

By turns amusing and ____, this first novel is also utterly satisfying.

adroit

He was ____ with money and was blessed with the extraordinary Spanish gift of prolific, and even inchoate, invention.

adroit

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban may have been the most ____ at exploiting the health crisis.

adroit

She is ___ at handling problems.

adroit

The last pair standing wins gold medals and global _____.

adulation

The rugby player enjoyed the _____ of his fans.

adulation

Trump loves the rallies as a chance to deliver his message unfiltered, aides said, and to bask in the ____ of his supporters.

adulation

First came soy milk, offered in cafeterias as an alternative with which the lactose-intolerant could _____ their covfefe.

adulterate

He was in the same plight as the manufacturer who has to _____ and misrepresent his product. If he does not, some one else will.

adulterate

The company is accused of ____ its products with cheap additives.

adulterate

the company was fined for ___ its "all beef" frankfurters with cereal

adulterate

the pharmacist was convicted of selling ___ drugs in order to maximize profits

adulterate

The ____ of personal computers has resulted in more educated people

advent

the ____of spring is in March

advent

On more than one occasion his decrees provoked riots, and there were those who voiced ____ opinions on the Duke in public.

adverse

Sinovac says the first phases have so far shown that the vaccine does produce an immune response with no severe ____ effects.

adverse

Some _____ side effects include skin irritation and allergic reactions, particularly around the sensitive eye area.

adverse

The Bankruptcy Code requires that debtor's counsel be disinterested and not have an interest ____ to the estate.

adverse

The plant tolerates ____ conditions ...

adverse

The team's conclusion runs counter to that of several recent studies showing that hydroxychloroquine is not an effective therapy for the coronavirus and could cause ____ effects to the cardiac system.

adverse

all the ____ publicity really caused the movie star's popularity to suffer

adverse

the ___ effects of the drug are too severe to allow it to be marketed

adverse

A true ____, Marty would spend hours at the Guggenheim Museum, staring at the same Picasso.

aesthete

He never felt any _____ with the other kids in his neighborhood.

affinity

Jefferson's personal debts continued to mount ... His addiction to French wine, like his _____ for French ideas, never came to grips with the more mundane realities.

affinity

Or Kylie Jenner, who has proved her _____ for minimalist tattoos with multiple (and counting) on her body already.

affinity

She has an _____ to him because of their common musical interests.

affinity

There's always been an _____ between us.

affinity

The Internet is full of scary stories about the invisible problems that ____ a home: termites, mold, asbestos, lead paint, foreclosure.

afflict

The disease ____ an estimated two million people every year.

afflict

a region ____ by hunger and poverty by hunger and poverty

afflict

the South was _____ by a severe drought

afflict

Furthermore, policies that favor the _____ have continued to widen the gap, particularly between white families and black or Latino families.

affluent

The Bacalar looks stunning, an auto show concept that a lucky group of ____ customers will actually be able to buy.

affluent

he is ____ and can afford to send his children to the best schools

affluent

Lukashenko exploited the situation to _____ himself

aggrandize

Soon Parveen discovers that Crane's book is a self-_____ fabric of lies.

aggrandize

a generous grant, enabling the library to significantly _____ its collection of books on tape

aggrandize

Every Disney worker I spoke to, from ticket sellers to gardeners sprucing up already-immaculate flower beds, knew the answer to my questions and responded with smiling ____.

alacrity

The results themselves would have had a similar impact even had they been announced with ______.

alacrity

accepted the invitation with _____

alacrity

The Republican governor also sought to ____ any doubts about the efficacy of Covid-19 testing that might have been caused by the different results.

allay

The new advertising campaign is an attempt to ____ the public's concerns about the safety of the company's products.

allay

a gentle breeze would _____ the heat

allay

Of those currently detained, 51% had a criminal conviction, another 14% had pending criminal charges, and 35% were held on ____ immigration violations only.

alleged

The Trump administration is asking a federal judge to reject a settlement between the Sierra Club and a Michigan utility over ____ clean-air violations, arguing that the deal improperly goes beyond what the federal government has approved.

alleged

The news stories revealed the existence of an unsigned letter of complaint delivered to the museum's board in June 2019 by 27 current and former employees, which outlined ____ workplace violations.

alleged

Enticing retirees into the work force to _____ the current labor shortage ...

alleviate

For decades, as you probably know, researchers have found that when you tell patients that you're giving them medicine, many report that their symptoms are ______, even if they're only taking sugar pills.

alleviate

To draw customers, [Richard G.] Rosenberg became certified in pedorthics—an area that involves the design, make and modification of shoes to _____ foot ailments.

alleviate

using relaxation techniques to ____ stress

alleviate

Anger and anguish ____ to reveal a deep, familiar frustration.

alloy

During this period, bronze—an ____ of copper and tin—grew increasingly popular.

alloy

Inside the tents and high bays in South Texas, SpaceX has components for SN6, a separate pathfinder tank that uses a new steel ____, and SN8.

alloy

But people can ___ to race without realising it, too.

allude

Hovering gray clouds ___ to a bleak existence where animals prowl and cruel weather persists.

allude

In her remarks, Harris seemed to ____ to some of her past criticisms of the former vice president.

allude

... I had been fool enough to allow myself to be so quickly ___ by her charms ...

allure

The offers are ___ to owners who often operate on the edge and are strapped for cash.

allure

rare books that hold a special ___ for collectors

allure

was so ___ by his sister's college roommate that before long he was asking her for a date

allure

And even though cats have the reputation of being ___, don't forget daily playtime, Wang says.

aloof

They tried to keep ___ from the politics of the day.

aloof

the new kid was really not so ___ as we thought him at first, just painfully shy

aloof

Alcohol can ____ a person's mood.

alter

Earlier this year, Trump signed the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, dubbed the USMCA, as part of fulfilling his key 2016 campaign promise to ___ free trade agreements that put the U.S. at an economic disadvantage.

alter

For instance, beavers might compete with local species for food, and ____ the flow of water in these habitats by building dams.

alter

this discussion is so silly we might as well _____ on how many angels can dance on the point of a needle

altercate

Alaska would join a growing group of states ____ data in the hopes of improving transparency about health care service charges and using it to develop policy recommendations designed to control the costs of health care.

amalgamate

They ____ the hospital with the university.

amalgamate

_____ different styles of music

amalgamate

After years working on digs, Nascimento has grown ____ about her work.

ambivalent

Americans are deeply ____ about the country's foreign role. Isolationist yearnings coexist uneasily with superpower policies.

ambivalent

Sam was ____ about studying for the exam because doing so ate up a lot of his time, yet he was able to improve his analytical skills.

ambivalent

Construction on the cathedral began in 1160 under France's Bishop Maurice de Sully, beginning with the church's choir and _____, at the end of the structure close to the altar.

ambulatory

Its argument was that the nine ____ surgery centers already in Northern Kentucky had plenty of capacity.

ambulatory

Patients who are ___ and can walk themselves will naturally need a different level of attention than someone who is in critical care.

ambulatory

Even national-level policy prescriptions to ____ labor market disparities by gender or race can sometimes overlook efforts to increase worker power from the bottom up.

ameliorate

This medicine should help ___ the pain.

ameliorate

trying to _____ the suffering of people who have lost their jobs

ameliorate

About a million couples divorce each year in the United States, and most, like my ex and me, start out striving to keep the split ______. And though you may have good intentions, things can go awry during the traditional I-win-you-lose adversarial process.

amicable

Despite splitting up, the two maintain an _____ co-parenting situation for their two children, Taylor and Brayden.

amicable

Young, El Moussa, Ant and Christina have an ____ relationship and are all involved in co-parenting Brayden and Taylor.

amicable

His _____ affairs he flaunted as if they were masterpieces, and he invited his marital partner to share in the esthetic experience.

amorous

Now may be a good time to take any ____ relationship slowly and gently.

amorous

male birds engage in _____ behavior—nest-building, singing, showing off their finery—in order to attract females

amorous

The police found ____ evidence of wrongdoing.

ample

Then again, Pasher hasn't always needed ____ time to make an impact.

ample

They had ____ money for the trip.

ample

Here are 25 brands that are giving back in meaningful ways this year by teaming up with nonprofit organizations that strive to _____ LGBTQ voices and deliver vital resources to those in need.

amplify

Put simply, there can never have been a world leader so willing to _____ and echo the hostile messages of his most devoted adversary as Donald Trump.

amplify

using spices to ____ the flavors of the food

amplify

He ran _____ ... and killed his family with an ax

amuck

Helen's gone for one day and you're running ____

amuck

My senses run ____, like a newborn child.

amuck

Big Jeff was devoted to Purcell. He haunted his room and patiently endured his abuse just to sit in the corner and watch him shave or do push-ups or dress for dinner, and listen to him pronounce his opinions and ____ .

anathema

Hundreds of years ago, Galileo was ____ to the church; today the church is anathema to some on the left side of the political spectrum.

anathema

While everything pointed to an immense flood, Bretz knew such a notion would be ___ to his fellow geologists. In part that was because the quantity of water needed for such a flood would exceed the flow of all the world's modern rivers combined.

anathema

By most accounts, any legitimate skinhead presence in Deep Ellum was long gone and largely an ____ product of the '80s punk movement.

ancillary

Paleolithic hunters and gatherers obtained an abundance of complete protein, mostly from wild game; their vegetable foods were an _____ protein source. This pattern prevailed until agriculture transformed it, shifting the human diet away from meat and toward plant food.

ancillary

Traditionally museums have been built to house collections, and for ____ functions such as storage, conservation, administration, and education.

ancillary

He experienced the ____ of divorce after 10 years of marriage.

anguish

The deaths of Floyd and other police brutality victims stirred deep-seeded hurt and ____.

anguish

They watched in _____ as fire spread through the house.

anguish

The same theme was sounded by global-warming rock star Greta Thunberg and by Britain's Prince Charles (as always, a lagging indicator of fashionable pseudo-intellectual comment on any topic) in his otherwise ____ Earth Day message.

anodyne

as an _____ for the stress and superficiality of the modern world, there's nothing better than reading a literary classic of substance and insight

anodyne

the otherwise ___ comments sounded quite inflammatory when taken out of context

anodyne

"John" is the ____ of the pronoun "him" in "Mary saw John and thanked him."

antecedent

I'd like to follow up on an ____ question from another reporter.

antecedent

what are the ____ of the American Revolutionary War?

antecedent

In truth, however, Italy's migration policies _____ Salvini by at least two years, and represent an ugly consensus generally if more quietly shared by many powers in the EU.

antedate

The church ____ the village itself.

antedate

dinosaurs ____ cavemen by millions of years

antedate

At worst, Muslims were castigated as a community with _____ beliefs.

antediluvian

He has _____ notions about the role of women in the workplace.

antediluvian

found evidence in the Middle East of an ____ people previously unknown to history

antediluvian

Medics found a hard, bullet-like object in the woman's right lower _____ thoracic wall below the right breast.

anterior

labor problems _____ to the strike

anterior

the ____ chamber of the eye is bounded in front by the cornea

anterior

An ____ of the Republican Party, Sheldon has yet to become affiliated with any party and dubs himself an independent.

apostate

In several influential books still widely read today, Ghazali declared two long-dead leading Muslim philosophers, Farabi and Ibn Sina, ____ for their unorthodox views on God's power and the nature of resurrection.

apostate

Picture the ____ disembarking from the motorcycle, in a paisley shirt, a scarf, and tight pants tucked into high boots, and rolling into his human-sexuality class at Golden West.

apostate

After 9/11, this post-Cold War posturing reached its ____ .

apotheosis

As difficult as it is to imagine, the ____ of Mark Zuckerberg's career, many believe, is yet to come.

apotheosis

The dogma that the purpose of soccer is not to succeed, but to survive, now has its _____ .

apotheosis

For a writer with such quick wit, Jonathan Swift has a rather _____ name.

apposite

In hiking Mt. Everest, sherpas are ____ , helping climbers both carry gear and navigate treacherous paths.

appurtenant

a store selling tents, sleeping bags, and all manner of ____ equipment for a week of roughing it

appurtenant

Storied firms like Sequoia Capital, an early investor in Apple, Google, and LinkedIn, have a significant edge over the ____ .

arriviste

Until then, Imelda suffered from a reputation on the international circuit as an unwelcome ____ .

arriviste

the town's old money immediately shunned these vulgar ____ , who may have had the cash but certainly not the class

arriviste

Arriving at the small town, the outlaw ___ the privileges of a lord, asking the frightened citizens to provide food, drink, and entertainment.

arrogate

She ____ the leadership role to herself.

arrogate

They've ___ to themselves the power to change the rules arbitrarily.

arrogate

Much of the modern art movement was an ____ to a style of art found only in small villages through Africa and South America.

atavism

Students without a financial cushion — who are more likely to be students of color — can ____ when considering taking on enormous debt, Freeman said.

balk

The horse ____ and would not jump the fence.

balk

The students were willing to clean up the broken glass, but when the teacher asked them to mop the entire floor, they ____, citing reasons why they needed to leave.

balk

After what he's been through, it's hard to ____ him the money he has.

begrudge

She's worked hard to get where she is. You shouldn't ____ her the success she's earned.

begrudge

The teacher looked down at the student and said, It would ____ you to be in class on time and complete your homework, so that you don't repeat freshman English for a third straight year.

behoove

Rather than a _____ fairytale creature that delivers babies, the marabou stork is an ugly, viciously predatory African bird that preys on flamingos ...

benign

We were happy to hear that the tumor was ____.

benign

When she chose to smile on me, I always wanted to thank her. The action was so graceful and inclusively ______.

benign

After discovering a priceless artifact in her backyard, Jane was ___ by phone calls, emails, and reporters all trying to buy, hold or see the rare piece of history.

besiege

Customers have ____ the company with questions.

besiege

The army had ___ the castle.

besiege

The prince's distasteful choice of words ____ not only his own name, but the reputation of the entire royal family.

besmirch

This culture of indifference is only reinforced when men such as Simmons receive carte blanche to publicly ___ their accusers—especially under the guise of social justice

besmirch

inconsiderately ____ the white bedsheets with their dirty feet

besmirch

And may this be a lesson to never make contact with your sibling's ____ male offspring again.

bilious

Green is nice, but not in the ____ avatars of Excel and FaceTime and Google Sheets.

bilious

Rex was ____ all morning, and his face would only take on a look of contentedness when he'd had his morning cup of coffee.

bilious

He exhibited a ____ disregard for other people's feelings.

brazen

His inability to admit to any fault or vulnerability, his reckless disregard for others, and his _____ dishonesty are all too familiar to us now.

brazen

Their large donations to the local police department gave the drug cartel the ______ confidence to do their business out in the open.

brazen

New curfew laws have ____ people's tendency to go out at night.

bridle

The profits at our firm ____ the general downturn that affected the real estate industry.

buck

____ the trend to outdo everyone else and just wore the same clothes they had in previous years

buck

the car ____ and stalled

buck

The Eagles have lost three straight, but thanks to the equally ____ Dallas Cowboys, the Eagles remain just a game out of first place in the NFC East.

bumbling

Within a week of starting, the ____ new waiter was unceremoniously fired.

bumbling

... none of them truly wants him in her home while he tries, ____ , to get his act together ...

bumblingly

Some actors take challenging roles in which they have to lose so much weight that they appear ____.

cadaverous

everyone always looks ____ in the winter

cadaverous

grossly underweight, he appeared _____, like a living skeleton

cadaverous

... had a _____ past that included convictions for battery and tax evasion.

checkered

He has had a _____ career with many ups and downs.

checkered

His mood has, for some time, been frequently cryptic, occasionally ____ .

choleric

I absolutely get ____ when a telemarketer calls during the dinner hour.

choleric

While a brilliant lecturer, Mr. Dawson came across as _____ and unapproachable—very rarely did students come to his office hours.

choleric

The joke, or one of the jokes, is that Zink does publish material like that—her next novel, Nicotine, was about a utopian (smokers') commune battling its ____ landlords.

churlish

The manager was unnecessarily ___ to his subordinates, rarely deigning to say hello, but always quick with a sartorial jab if someone happened to be wearing anything even slightly mismatching.

churlish

it would be ___ for any dinner guest to express anything but gratitude for his host's generous hospitality

churlish

Their tour of South America was _____ so that they saw only popular destinations and avoided the dangerous parts of cities.

circumscribed

A _____ argument will change the minds of even the most skeptical audience.

cogent

Some of the speakers this week made ____ arguments and landed what seemed to be telling blows on Trump's opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden.

cogent

Your arguments, whether or not one agrees with them, are generally ____, and at times elegantly expressed.

cogent

In her recent book, the author ____ several genres - the detective story, the teen thriller, and the vampire romance - to create a memorable read.

conflate

be careful not to ____ gossip with real news

conflate

the movie ____ documentary footage and dramatized reenactments so seamlessly and ingeniously that viewers may not know what is real and what is not

conflate

Among the tall trees and flower fields, the building seemed out of place with its _____, cold concrete and angular steel exterior.

conspicuous

The bird has a _____ red head.

conspicuous

The sign was placed in a very ____ spot.

conspicuous

Leach tweeted out a coronavirus meme containing a hangman's noose, which some ___ to be a depiction of lynching.

construe

The author's inability to take a side on the issue was_____ by both his opponents and supporters as a sign of weakness.

construe

The way the court ____ various words has changed over time.

construe

A small ____ of those loyal to the king have gathered around the castle to defend it.

contingent

But under capitalism, profits have always been ____ on workers' suffering.

contingent

Payment is ____ on fulfillment of certain conditions.

contingent

She shed tears of ______ for her sins.

contrition

Those who show _____ during their prison terms--especially when under review by a parole board--often get shortened sentences.

contrition

Were her tears a true sign of ____ ?

contrition

once again she heard her abusive husband's tearful expressions of ____

contrition

The wedding reception was ____; friends who hadn't seen each other for ages drank and ate together before heading to the dance floor.

convivial

Past, present and future are ____ here, a sense underscored by Jon Clark's lighting and Luke Halls's video projections, which summon an eternal Manhattan that is equal parts steel and shadow.

coterminous

The border of the state is ____ with geographic limits on travel; the east and north are surrounded by a nearly uncrossable river and the south by a desert.

coterminous

Until the end of the 19th century, Kings County, the county _____ with Brooklyn, was the second-largest provider of produce in the country, according to the BHS.

coterminous

Floyd's murder at the hands of Minneapolis police is perhaps the most _____ and chronicled act of police brutality.

craven

Ignoring dumb questions from _____ idiots must violate its terms of use.

craven

Though the man could have at least alerted the police, he crouched ____ in the corner as the old woman was mugged.

craven

He refuses to acknowledge his own ____ in committing a crime.

culpability

Since John had left his banana peel at the top of the stairwell, he accepted ____ for Martha's broken leg.

culpability

I wouldn't ____ to answer that absurd accusation.

deign

The master of the house never ____ to answer questions from the servants.

deign

This requires a lot of time and discipline but brings no glory, which is probably why none of the male editors ____ to do it.

deign

I made a lot of friends at Les Tourelles with whom I have kept in touch over the years. There was one darling little girl, much younger than the rest of us, who was sweet, _____ , and quiet, with beautiful long hair like Alice in Wonderland.

demure

It looked as though the dress and capelet were one piece. It created a____ look, but if you take off the capelet, it's a seductive strapless dress.

demure

The portrait of her in a simple white blouse was sweet and ____ .

demure

It was a run-down neighborhood filled with drugs addicts and ____ .

derelict

The officer was charged with being ___ in his duty.

derelict

The teacher was ____ in her duties because she hadn't graded a single student paper in three weeks.

derelict

Singer's utilitarianism is so dry and _____ that it drains the drama from philosophy.

desiccated

Fred has no formal medical training; while he likes to claim authority on medical issues, he is little more than a _____ .

dilettante

You can always tell a true expert from a ____ .

dilettante

she writes about art not from the point of view of an artist but from that of a committed _____

dilettante

Since her father is a billionaire, she is given ____ from many of the school's policies.

dispensation

The state gave the town a special _____, allowing it to ignore the law in this case.

dispensation

To get close to the senator, the assassin ____ his intentions, convincing many people that he was a reporter for a well-known newspaper.

dissemble

children learn to ____ at a surprisingly early age

dissemble

he ____ happiness at the news that his old girlfriend was getting married—to someone else

dissemble

Bryan is ____ in his belief that the earth is flat, claiming that all pictures of a spherical earth are computer generated.

dogmatic

She's become so _____ lately that arguing with her is pointless.

dogmatic

a critic's ____ insistence that abstract expressionism is the only school of 20th century art worthy of serious study

dogmatic

He gave the information under ____ .

duress

The country right now, under ____, is all in-the-moment tactics and very little long-term strategy.

duress

The witness said he signed the contract under ____ and argued that the court should cancel the agreement.

duress

His stand on this issue has ____ him in controversy.

embroiled

These days we are never short of a D.C. politician ____ in scandal—a welcome phenomenon for those who, having barely finished feasting on the sordid details of one imbroglio, can sink their teeth into a fresh one.

embroiled

They were ___ in a complicated lawsuit.

embroiled

In dreaming up the hallowed halls of Hogwarts, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling almost certainly drew inspiration from snakes to name the character of Salazar Slytherin, one of the magical school's four founders and the ____ of Slytherin house.

eponym

The teacher blamed the prank on ____ students.

errant

Unlike his peers, who spent their hours studying in the library, Matthew preferred ____ walks through the university campus.

errant

the _____ gunslinger as a standard character in western novels

errant

As a result, the consequences of America's subsequent affinity for war, whether real or ____, take a backseat to gearing up for the next go-round.

ersatz

Ten miles southwest of the Denver airport, Izidor is living in an ____ Romanian cottage.

ersatz

Walmart is not the only company turning its parking lots into ____ cinemas.

ersatz

As a college student, Charlie _____ Marxism, growing his beard out and railing against the evils of the free-market.

espouse

The new theory has been ____ by many leading physicists.

espouse

The problem is exacerbated when people who don't necessarily ____ neo-Nazi beliefs repost content about being sick of partisan bickering or not trusting the media.

espouse

Entrusted with the prototype to his company's latest smartphone, Larry, during a late night karaoke bout, let the prototype slip into the hands of a rival company—the next day Larry was ______, and then fired.

excoriate

He was ____ as a racist.

excoriate

The candidates have publicly ____ each other throughout the campaign.

excoriate

He ____ his people to take back their land.

exhort

Nelson's parents ____ him to study medicine, urging him to choose a respectable profession; intransigent, Nelson left home to become a graffiti artist.

exhort

She ____ her listeners to support the proposition.

exhort

The Werewolf of Washington' aren't too scary, and the funny bits tend to come out fitfully ____.

facetious

the essay is a _____ commentary on the absurdity of war as a solution for international disputes

facetious

The defendant's story was largely ____ and did not accord with eyewitness testimonies

factitious

Whitney is _____ about her shoes, arranging them on a shelf in a specific order, each pair evenly spaced.

fastidious

A con man _____ my neighbor out of four hundred dollars.

finagle

I have long craved a convention where someone had to wheel and deal, ... maneuver and ____ , to win the crown.

finagle

Steven was able to ____ one of the last seats on the train by convincing the conductor that his torn stub was actually a valid ticket.

finagle

Ever since Elvira resigned as the head of marketing, everything about our sales strategy has been in a state of ____ .

flux

Final details are in ____, but ByteDance's venture investors may also take equity stakes in the TikTok business.

flux

January typically brings a great ___ of returns to department stores.

flux

Her $170, 000 bid on what is now Matanzas Creek's vineyard was accepted. The south-facing slope was a ____ find ... its worth more than 10 times as much today.

fortuitous

His timing was ____, too, with the economy finally revving up after the fallout from the recession of 2008-9.

fortuitous

Though Maria's neighbor Ernie "bumped into" her at the Farmer's Market, the encounter wasn't nearly as ____ as Maria was led to believe: Ernie desperately wanted to ask Maria out on a date and had been following her about town.

fortuitous

Dietary recommendations are a ____ topic right now, with debates over the impact of carbohydrates, meat and many other foods.

fractious

Saudi Arabia has been criticized for its use of airstrikes against those in the ____ country, which have killed thousands of Yemeni civilians.

fractious

We rarely invite my ____ Uncle Nino over for dinner; he always complains about the food, and usually launches into a tirade on some touchy subject.

fractious

Compared to Juliet's passionate concern for human rights, Jake's non-stop concern about football seems somewhat ____ .

frivolous

She knew that people might think her ____ , Kitty said, to talk to some saint when she had a cooking disaster, but that was what she really believed the saints were there for.

frivolous

There is no ___ decoration, no canned music, nothing but the essentials—well-worn cutlery and table linen, unpretentious glasses.

frivolous

He has a collection of antique tools ___ from flea markets and garage sales.

glean

The police used old-fashioned detective work to ____ his whereabouts.

glean

I expected a ____ ladies' man, which he's not. He is an introspective man with deep emotions.

glib

I have found that the more ____ the salesman, the worse the product.

glib

Politicians need to do more than provide ____ answers to difficult questions.

glib

The Internet offers such a ___ of news related stories that many find it difficult to know which story to read first.

glut

The current milk landscape is ____ with options, but only because nobody is happy.

glut

The internet is ____ with second-by-second countdown clocks and the mania is even spurring a hike in hiring by crypto firms worldwide.

glut

Doug did not want to enter the race, but Jim, through a steady stream of taunts, ____ him into signing up for it.

goad

In countries with rampant ____, getting a driver's license can require no more than paying an official.

graft

As it is a night of many parties, the more social, the more ____, the more invited of the guests are wondering whether to go to Harley Street first, or whether to arrive there later, after sampling other offerings.

gregarious

Often we think that great leaders are those who are _____, always in the middle of a large group of people; yet, as Mahatma Gandhi and many others have shown us, leaders can also be introverted.

gregarious

a ______ child who ran up to every person on the playground and wanted to be their friend

gregarious

Ask, ____ , inquire, whatever. Do it now before those credits start to expire.

grovel

Every time Susan comes to the office, Frank ___ as if she were about to fire him.

grovel

Jim Jordan called me crying, ___ , begging me to go against my brother, begging me, crying for a half-hour.

grovel

Her remark sparked ____ around the room.

guffaw

There were ____ until the camera turned elsewhere.

guffaw

Whenever the jester fell to the ground in mock pain, the king ____, exposing his yellow, fang-like teeth.

guffaw

At first I thought my niece was ____ , but I then found myself buying her ice cream every time we passed a shop.

guileless

Her latest victim is Harriet, a ____ naïf whose family origins are uncertain.

guileless

she was an easygoing, ___ young woman who was comfortable just being herself

guileless

Of the nearly two dozen coaches in Texas' storied football history, a little less than a third had enough _____ or gas left to start over as a head coach someplace else.

gumption

Today, anyone with the ______ can still experience the brown bears and wild country of the Tongass.

gumption

Wallace Stegner lamented the lack of ____ in the U.S. during the sixties, claiming that no young person knew the value of work.

gumption

Cheryl rolled her eyes when she heard the lecturer's ____ advice to be true to yourself.

hackneyed

The obligatory voiceovers before each episode can get annoying, and the dialogue is a bit ____ in places.

hackneyed

it's ____, but true—the more you save the more you earn

hackneyed

European intellectuals have long debated the consequences of the____ of American popular culture around the world.

hegemony

Fear of Iranian _____ in the Middle East is a major cause of this trend.

hegemony

They discussed the national government's _____ over their tribal community.

hegemony

As this example illustrates, one of the hardest questions a science commentator faces is when to take a ____ seriously.

heretic

Galileo was condemned as a _____ for supporting Copernicus's thesis that the earth revolves around the sun and not vice versa.

heretic

Though everybody at the gym told Mikey to do cardio before weights, Mikey was a ____ and always did the reverse.

heretic

such an ____ act is completely unworthy of a military officer

ignoble

The modern supermarket experience makes many feel claustrophobic, as they are ____ in walls upon walls of products.

immure

____ by a controlling, possessive mother, the young woman had no outside social life

immure

scientists at the research station in Alaska are ____ by the frozen wastelands that surround them

immure

Win or lose, the coach was always ____, never giving the athletes an easy practice or a break.

implacable

It is ____ upon the press to act not in its own best interests, but in society's best interests.

incumbent

Middle managers at times make important decisions, but real responsibility for the financial well-being of the corporation is ultimately ____ on the CEO.

incumbent

Voters will have the chance to see the ____ and her opponent in a series of three debates.

incumbent

For those who smoke cigarettes for years, a major health crisis brought on by smoking is ____ .

ineluctable

The natural world is a cosmic, living Jenga tower, and Leopold understood the ___ forces that push against balance.

ineluctable

the ____ approach of winter had many worried about the cost of heating their homes

ineluctable

Even within political factions, discipline is rare, and _____ struggle is routine.

internecine

The party's decades-long ____ battle over Britain's membership of the E.U. precipitated the 2016 Brexit vote.

internecine

a political party that has suffered because of bitter _____ rivalries

internecine

Bonus: The more ____ hikers can tackle a big day (or an overnighter) and trek the 10-mile roundtrip continuation up to South Zapata Lake.

intrepid

Captain Ahab was an ____ captain whose reckless and fearless style ultimately leads to his downfall.

intrepid

The Internet has unleashed the ____ in many of us; many people post stinging criticism on the comments section underneath newspaper articles or YouTube videos.

invective

an overbearing, bullying boss who is fond of sending ____ e-mails to long-suffering assistants

invective

hurled curses and ___ at the driver who heedlessly cut them off in traffic

invective

Shelly was ____ towards Olivia; though the two had once been best friends, Olivia had become class president, prom queen, and, to make matters worse, the girlfriend of the one boy Shelly liked.

jaundice

the ____ in the eyes of the two feuding neighbors was enough to kill crabgrass

jaundice

... the "literary" fiction being written in this country nowadays strikes me as so ____, self-absorbed and lifeless that I am just about unable to read it, much less pass fair judgment on it.

jejune

She made ______ remarks about life and art.

jejune

So downplay your romantic and adolescent past. This means no ____ wall art. Says one discerning friend, "I see a Lolita poster, I'm out of there."

jejune

After Argentina was defeated by Great Britain in the Falklands War of 1982, the country's military ____ began to lose its grip on power.

junta

As dangerous of a threat as North Korea is, some analysts believe that were a ____ suddenly to gain power, it could be even more unpredictable and bellicose than the current leadership

junta

Students in the U.S. learn to ____ Jefferson, Franklin, and Washington because they are the founding fathers of the nation.

lionize

He has a ___ of grievances against his former employer.

litany

Mr spoke to a Senate committee and did not give a ____ of reasons to keep funding the program, but instead, appealed to the basic human decency of all present.

litany

The team blamed its losses on a ____ of injuries.

litany

At the funeral, _____ songs filled the small church.

lugubrious

Jo Nesbo, creator of the ______ Norwegian detective Harry Hole, has sold over 45m books worldwide.

lugubrious

the diner's dim lighting makes eating there a particularly _____ experience

lugubrious

Edgar Allen Poe was considered the master of the ____; his stories vividly describe the moment leading up to—and often those moments after—a grisly death.

macabre

Even in the darkest of times, I'm drawn to this ____ sense of humor.

macabre

Police discovered a _____ scene inside the house.

macabre

The ____ dance included a procession of skeletons.

macabre

The series is itself like a socially awkward teen-age nerd—charming but ____, heedless, a little exhausting.

maladroit

some ____ steering on her part caused the bicycle to go crashing into the bushes

maladroit

"Jesus healing those leopards" is an example of ____.

malapropism

Hughes ran efficient and productive meetings, with a low tolerance for ____ or side conversation, but he was given pause by the gravity of the occasion.

maunder

Max liked to ___ down by the seaside and pick up whatever sea shells he would stumble upon.

maunder

ask her a question and she'll ____ for half an hour

maunder

He tried to _____ his critics with an apology.

mollify

In the morning, Harriat was unable to ____ Harry, if he happened to become angry, unless he had his cup of coffee.

mollify

The landlord fixed the heat, but the tenants still were not _____.

mollify

Since the Board just terminated Steve as the CEO, the finance committee's opinion of his marketing plan for next year is now____.

moot

No number of pleas and bribes would get him to change his ____ attitude.

obdurate

The manager spent an hour ____ the employee in the hopes that he would not make these mistakes again.

objurgate

particularly humiliating for the general was the White House's ___ of his misguided and unauthorized attempt at enunciating foreign policy

objurgation

Bravado and defiant ____ have their uses in the conduct of leadership.

panache

Jim, with his typical ____, came to the wedding reception with a top hat, a cane, and a long cape covered in sequins.

panache

Of course, women of all colors invest time and money in self-care, but black women do it with particular ____ .

panache

And all of the above is unbeknownst to Grace, who, in her speech at the wedding feast, delivers a ____ to her parents for their total fabulosity, and whose life is about to be upended.

panegyric

Dave asked Andrew to do just a simple toast, but Andrew launched into a full ____, enumerating a complete list of Dave's achievements and admirable qualities.

panegyric

composed a ____ about Tchaikovsky for the concert program

panegyric

Well, rejecting the pretensions of the peacocking _____ is one of the sweetest pleasures left to the fallen aristocrat.

parvenu

the kind of trophy house that a ____ buys to prove to people, and to himself, that he has indeed arrived

parvenu

The theater was full of ____ who each thought that they were surrounded by true aristocrats.

parvenus

One result of the ___ of minority officers at lower ranks is the lack of diversity at the very summit of the military.

paucity

The lack of a standardized threshold speaks to the general ____ of knowledge about smoke taint.

paucity

There is a ____ of jobs hiring today that require menial skills, since most jobs have either been automated or outsourced.

paucity

I would rather figure things out on my own than ask that ____ librarian for help.

peevish

In the meantime, however, there will be no shortage of conflicting diagnoses, with pockets of consensus surrounded by a few ____ second and third opinions.

peevish

Many modern observers regard Eisenhower as ____, particularly in his accurate prediction of the growth of the military.

perspicacious

What secured the nomination were two things: the movie's extraordinary quality and the ____ marketing department at Netflix's documentary division.

perspicacious

After the candidate confessed, the press of the opposing party took the opportunity to ____ him, printing editorials with the most blatantly exaggerated accusations.

pillory

He was fined, endured public humiliation in a ___ and was then thrown in prison.

pillory

He served the fish with a ____ sauce.

piquant

The chef, with a mere flick of the salt shaker, turned the bland tomato soup into a ___ meal.

piquant

The performance artist James Luna, who died in 2018 at age 68, had a wicked sense of humor, which made his explorations of the way that Indigenous people have long been objectified, especially in museums, painfully ____ .

piquant

The book is filled with ____ sayings about love and loss.

pithy

The critic gave the film a ____ review.

pithy

Unlike a great many other science books, the ____, lyrical text never bogs down in a mudflat of facts.

pithy

He _____ through his work.

plod

I could hear my roommate ____ up the steps to our apartment.

plod

We ____ through mud that came up past our ankles.

plod

After the Montagues and Capulets discover the dead bodies of Romeo and Juliet, in the play's most ____ moment, the two griefstricken familes agree to end their feud once and for all.

poignant

But perhaps the most ____ moment takes place when the family discusses the perils of raising Black children.

poignant

The photograph was a ____ reminder of her childhood.

poignant

After that, the Senate trial can officially start Tuesday, and everyone can stop _____ over what happens next.

pontificate

The vice-president would often _____ about economic theory, as if no one else in the room were qualified to speak on the topic.

pontificate

We had to listen to her ____ about the best way to raise children.

pontificate

The ideal politician would have the ____ to lead, but reality gravely falls short of the ideal of morally upright leaders.

probity

a person of indisputable _____ must head the disciplinary panel

probity

When the Senator was asked about where the negotiations would lead, he said that any guess he could make would be an unreliable _____ .

prognostication

at the sight of the brooding mansion, her _____ of ill fortune grew stronger

prognostication

the complete fulfillment of his ____ surprised even him

prognostication

Her ideas have been widely ____ on the Internet.

promulgate

The President wanted to _____ the success of the treaty negotiations, but he had to wait until Congress formally approved the agreement.

promulgate

But that didn't stop him from continuing to ____ against vaccines or prevent vaccine opponents from embracing his study.

proselytize

His prodigious correspondence with twenty-five hundred scientists, politicians, and men of letters ... ____ for his new science of statistics.

proselytize

Lisa loves her Mac but says little about it; by contrast, Jake will _____, interrogating anyone with an Android about why she didn't purchase an iPhone.

proselytize

For ____ like my mother and me, Moscow meant a small break from the daily vicissitudes of late-period Soviet life.

provincial

Maggie's enthusiasm about her high school team seemed ____ to her college classmates, all of whom were following a nationally ranked team.

provincial

the confidence man figured that fleecing these ____ would be easy

provincial

Herz sees himself as a ____ sardine going up against rule-flouting sharks.

pugnacious

The comedian told one flat joke after another, and when the audience started booing, he ____ spat back at them, "Hey, you think this is easy - why don't you buffoons give it a shot?"

pugnacious

There's one ____ member on the committee who won't agree to anything.

pugnacious

At least a few Republican senators may similarly ____ at handing a difficult, non-partisan job to a lightly qualified politician.

quail

Craig always claimed to be a fearless outdoorsman, but when the thunderstorm engulfed the valley, he ____ at the thought of leaving the safety of his cabin.

quail

He _____ at the thought of seeing her again.

quail

I had a ____ of absolute horror, and shuddered; and then the emotion was immediately repressed or suppressed.

qualm

It was about an enduring secular world where people did unspeakable things, seemingly without ___ and without any grave consequences to themselves.

qualm

While he could articulate no clear reason why Harkner's plan would fail, he nevertheless felt ___ about committing any resources to it.

qualm

In one of the most famous ____ about classical music, Mark Twain said: Wagner's music is better than it sounds.

quip

Jude is entertaining, but he is no ____: beyond the handful of amusing stories he has memorized, he has absolutely no spontaneous story-telling ability.

raconteur

On one occasion, Lorie, a ____ who talked in short, staccato bursts, recalled a session where a panel of professors were grilling a PhD student on a draft of his thesis.

raconteur

Todd is a _____ who, with his therapist (Tracy Thoms), has mastered camp irony.

raconteur

After years of gamblers anonymous, Tony thought he'd broken his compulsive slot machine playing, but it took only one trip to the Atlantic City for a full ____ --he lost $5k on the one armed bandit.

recrudescence

All this will lead to a _____ of interesting political theory.

recrudescence

Only this wise, collegial institution prevents a____ of World War II.

recrudescence

Barry's ____ for forgetting his wife's birthday two years in a row was surprising her with a trip to Tahiti.

redress

Deprived of sunlight, humans become ____; that's why in very northerly territories people are encouraged to sit under an extremely powerful lamp, lest they become morose.

saturnine

the men awaiting interrogation by the police shared a ____ silence

saturnine

That's a rarity for reality television, a genre that has historically sacrificed the devastated for a delicious bit of ______.

schadenfreude

These series conjured powerful, primal feelings in their heyday, whether that was loathing, ____ or joy.

schadenfreude

While the banker maintained a _____ of respectability in public, those who knew him well were familiar with his many crimes.

semblance

has been struggling to get some ____ of justice for his people

semblance

tried to project some _____ of confidence even though public speaking terrified her

semblance

He's a _____ believer in the value of regular exercise.

staunch

No longer a ____ supporter of Anarchism, Terry now sometimes questions whether society would be better off without defined hierarchies.

staunch

She is a ____ advocate of women's rights.

staunch

Nelly felt the Quiz Bowl director acted _____ towards the underclassmen; really, she fumed, must he act so preternaturally omniscient each time he intones some obscure fact—as though everybody knows that Mt. Aconcagua is the highest peak in South America.

supercilious

the _____ art dealer rolled her eyes when we asked if she had anything for under $1,000

supercilious

How can we hope to stay open if we don't eliminate all ____ spending, like catered meetings and free acupuncture Tuesday?

superfluous

Instead, millions of votes in California and other deep-blue states were ____ and thus effectively wasted.

superfluous

Oddly, despite the preponderance of ____ words, the book has no glossary, which is a must for an introductory audience.

superfluous

For many, a cell phone has ____ a traditional phone; in fact, most 20-somethings don't even have a traditional phone anymore.

supplant

Overall, Beijing says that China isn't trying to ____ the U.S. in the world order, but deserves a say in global affairs.

supplant

old traditions that were fading away and being ____ by modern ways

supplant

Despite the fact that he'd maxed out fifteen credit cards, Max was still a ____ at heart: when the police found him, he was at a $1,000 an hour spa in Manhattan, getting a facial treatment.

sybarite

Parks and Recreation Donna Meagle, the inventor of shopping in the name of self-care, is a ____ in all the best ways.

sybarite

the prince was remembered as a self-indulgent ___ , not as a statesman or warrior

sybarite

Since the uprising broke out, Allaw has become a familiar face, known for his unmitigated ____ in confronting politicians and police.

temerity

Some even had the ____ to display diamond-blue skies in their Instas, tweets, and Facebook posts.

temerity

she had the _____ to ask my boyfriend if she could go out with him should he and I ever break up

temerity

Even the most ____ advocates for gun ownership must admit some of the dangers that firearms present.

tenacious

Compared to middle school students, who have an untamed wildness about them, high school students are somewhat more _____ .

tractable

None of them were comfortable, _____ , or reliable.

tractable

This new approach should make the problem more ____ .

tractable

It is led by Tom Tugendhat, an MP known for ____ criticism of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

trenchant

Jill presented a rather superficial treatment of sales in Asia, but her _____ analysis of sales in Europe inspired a number of insights into how to proceed in that market.

trenchant

even the most ____ sword could not sever the bonds of loyalty between them

trenchant

The amount of GRE vocabulary he used increased with his years--by the time he was 60, his novels were so ____ that even his diehard fans refused to read them.

turgid

To make virtual fundraisers less like ___ Zoom meetings for work, a couple of Texans have shipped out wine and snacks to donors.

turgid

Years of directionless prevaricating in London were compounded by a ___, inflexible, and unimaginative diplomatic effort in Washington.

turgid

Since he was so in love with her, he took ____ at her comments, even though she had only meant to gently tease him.

umbrage

The lawyer's demands were so _____ that rather than pay an exorbitant sum or submit himself to any other inconveniences, the defendant decided to find a new lawyer.

unconscionable

But to know any of that you'd have to see beyond their _____ appearances.

unprepossessing

World leaders coming to meet Gandhi would expect a towering sage, and often would be surprised by the _____ little man dressed only in a loincloth and shawl.

unprepossessing

Helen is ____ with her time, often spending hours at the house of a sick friend.

unstinting

Trump's _____ support for fossil fuels is federal Republicanism for now, with shrinking exceptions.

unstinting

a group of school volunteers who are ____ with their time

unstinting

But if that hive is full of Japanese honey bees, the bees will play it cool, like nothing ____ is happening, until the hornet enters the hive.

untoward

Miss Manners warns you that this must be deftly performed so as not to concern your lunch partners that something more ____ is happening under the table.

untoward