English IV 7-9
effrontery
I can't believe he had the ______ to come into my home and tell me what I should do to help him.
paltry
I had expected a decent tip from the party of six that I waited on early that evening, but all I got was a(n) _______ two dollars!
arrant
In Shakespeare's tragedy, the audience clearly sees that Iago is a(n) _______ scoundrel, but Othello is blind to his treachery.
fatuous
In order to discredit the presidential candidate, the journalist made a list of the many _______ statements that he had made over the years.
raze
It is a good deal easier to ______ an old building than it is to demolish a time-honored social institution.
Unremittingly
It is easy to criticize some of the decisions that the mayoral candidate made when he was a member of City Council, but how can one overlook the fact that for the last twenty years he has worked ________ to make the lives of the poor and working class better?
Pedantry
It is sheer ___________ on his part to insist that his friends apply the rules of formal literary composition when sending him text messages.
acclamation
Lucy had only expected polite applause from her fellow students for her student council election speech, so she was pleasantly surprised by the _______ she received from the student body.
convivial
My family is very close, so Thanksgiving dinner at my grandmother's house is always a(n) _________ gathering.
badinage
My grandmother enjoys the delightful _______ between stars like Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn in films from the 1940s.
increment
Not satisfied with the slow _______ of his savings in a bank account, he turned to the stock market to increase his wealth.
ephemeral
Not surprisingly, my sister's half-hearted promise to practice the clarinet everyday for one month was ______, lasting only five days.
allay
Nothing we could say seemed to ______ her grief over the loss of her dog.
counterpart
Often the antonym of a given English word is not so much its opposite as its ______--for example "actor" and "actress."
slough
On New Year's Day, many people make resolutions to _______ off bad habits and live better.
juggernaut
On the Western Front in August 1914, the French army nervously prepared itself for the oncoming _______ that was the German Second Army.
macabre
Only someone with a truly _______ sense of style would decide to use a hearse as a family car.
ephemeral
Only the greatest of writers and artists achieve anything other than _______ popularity.
lackadaisical
Our excitement at visiting the world-famous ruins was dampened by the _______ attitude of the bored and spiritless guide.
echelon
Over the years, hard work and unstinting devotion to duty have raised me from one ______ of company management to the next.
bucolic
Perhaps he would be less enamored with the delights of the _______ life if, like me, he had grown up on a farm in Kansas.
coterie
Ralph Waldo Emerson and a(n) ______ of like-minded friends led the American transcendentalism movement in the mid-nineteenth century.
inordinate
Sadly, in our celebrity-obsessed culture, actors make ______ amounts of money, while educators make little.
Paroxysm
Seized by a(n) ________________ of rage, the prisoner began to beat the bars of his cell with his bare hands.
calumniated
Since Abraham Lincoln is now considered a great national hero, it is hard to believe that he was bitterly ________ when he was president.
chary
Since so many funds had been spent with so few results, the state legislature was _______ about appropriating more money.
saturnine
Someone with such a ______ outlook on life doesn't make a fun travel companion, especially on a long trip.
coterie
The "Old 400" was a very small and exclusive _____ of prominent families that dominated East Coast society for decades.
allay
The Chairman of the Federal Reserve held a press conference to _______ the fears of investors after a business journalist speculated that interest rates were going to skyrocket.
razing
The Historical Society objects to the policy of _______ historic old buildings to make way for unsightly parking lots.
garish
The _____ movie palaces of an earlier era have given way to smaller theaters, decorated in a simpler, more plain style.
bestial
The atrocities committed by the ______ commanders of such concentration camps as Auschwitz in Germany during World War II appalled the civilized world.
countermand
The authority of the student council is not absolute because the principal can ______ any of its decisions.
conciliate
The beliefs of the two parties involved in the dispute are so diametrically opposed that it will be almost impossible to _______ them.
embellish
The best storytellers _______ their tales in ways that help the readers visualize the setting.
redolent
The cabin may seem ordinary to you, but I find it ______ with memories of happy summers spent in these woods.
Collusion
The contractor was suspected of having acted in ___________ with a state official to fix the bids on certain public works contracts.
jettisoned
The crew of the freighter _______ most of its cargo in a desperate effort to keep the sinking ship afloat.
Mandated
The environmental protection agency has _______________ that all automobiles pass an annual emissions test.
paucity
The governor's four disastrous years in office were marked by a plenitude of promises and a(n) ________ of performance.
irrefutable
The jury felt that the prosecution presented _______ evidence of the defendant's guilt and declared him guilty of all charges.
alleged
The men now being held in police custody are _______ to have robbed eight supermarkets over the last year.
misanthrope
The millionaire ______ left all her money to an animal shelter and not a penny to a single human being.
indigent
The number of homeless and ______ persons has increased since the economy took a downturn.
Bucolic
The painting depicts a restfully ___________ scene, with some cows grazing placidly in a meadow as their shepherd dozes under a bush.
mandate
The phrase "We the people" in the Constitution indicates that the ultimate ______ of our government comes from the popular will.
picayune
The proofreader didn't notice any significant flaws in the writing, but he did find a few ______ errors in punctuation.
furtive
The student failed his vocabulary test when the teacher caught him taking a(n) _______ glance at the test paper of the student sitting in front of him.
recanted
To the surprise of those in the courtroom, the witness _______ his earlier testimony.
paucity
We have many capable and well-meaning people in our organization, but it seems to me that one problem we have is that there is a(n) _______ of real leadership.
saturated
What possible purpose will be served by setting up yet another hamburger stand in an area already ______ with fast-food shops.
raiment
When Charles V retired to a Spanish monastery after abdicating from the throne, he exchanged the costly ______ of a king for the simple clothing of a monk.
lackadaisical
You are not going to do well in your job if you continue to work in such a(n) _______ and halfhearted manner.
Paltry
___________ attendance an Opening night caused made it clear that the show would not be a financial success.
demur
"I am flattered that you think I'm capable of managing the entire department," he said, "but I must _______ on the ground of my youth and inexperience."
pertinacious
"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again" seems to be the motto of that ______ young woman.
portends
A plunge in atmospheric pressure _______ on oncoming storm.
exacerbate
Although some "home remedies" appear to alleviate the symptoms of a disease, they may in fact _______ the condition.
litany
Anytime I ask my saturnine aunt Grace how she is doing, I am treated to an endless _______ of ailments and complaints.
indigent
As a result of the disastrous stock market crash of 1929, many men who were once as rich as princes became as _______ as paupers.
refulgent
As the _______ summer sun sank slowly in the west, the skies were ablaze with color.
vacillated
As the trapped miners waited through the long night for the arrival of the rescue team, they ______ between hope and despair.
counterparts
At the Casablanca Conference in 1943, President Roosevelt and his military aides met with their British ______ to map military strategy for the Western Allies.
felicitous
At the party celebrating their fiftieth anniversary, my grandfather described the extraordinary and _______ circumstances that led him to meet my grandmother for the first time.
exacerbate
By denying your guilt without offering any explanation of your actions, you will only ______ an already bad situation.
Shibboleths
By the time Election Day rolls around, most voters are tired of hearing the same old promises and _______________.
Imperturbable
Cliff Lee was a great pitcher not only because he was talented, but also because he was ______________ in even the most stressful situations.
peregrination
During our family's recent ______ to the New Orleans French Quarter, we attended several jazz concerts.
portends
Economists believe that the drop in automobile sales and steel production ______ serious problems for business in the future.
inordinate
He is entitled to reasonable compensation for the damage to his car, but the demands he has made are totally _______.
Dilettante
He may have natural athletic ability, but he'll never become a professional as long as he has the work ethic of a __________.
irrefutable
His annoying debating technique is rooted in his firm belief that anything bellowed in a loud voice is absolutely ______.
unremitting
However long and difficult the struggle, we must be ______ in our efforts to wipe out racism in this country.
