question

One of the best-known figures of American folklore is the lean, tough, _____ cowboy.

answer

laconic

question

I hope to _____ my parents for all the care they have shown me.

answer

requite

question

Although fate has decreed that he make his living as a stockbroker, his main interests and talents are definitely _____.

answer

aesthetic

question

Though, I left the house feeling "as fit as a fiddle," my spirits began to _____ after only five minutes in that withering heat.

answer

languish

question

Her sense of tact is so _____ and unerring that she can handle the most trying situation as if it were mere child's play.

answer

impeccable

question

The sternness of my boss's expression so _____ me that at first I had difficulty responding to the question.

answer

discomfited

question

Many scholars believe that Beaumont or Fletcher _____ a scene or two into the present text of Shakespeare's Macbeth.

answer

interpolated

question

One of the comforting things about reaching the _____ of one's career is that the only place to go from there is up.

answer

nadir

question

Perhaps we should be overjoyed that the great man condescended to give us a(n) _____ nod as we passed by.

answer

perfunctory

question

Though few of us today stand on ceremony to quite the extent that our ancestors did, common courtesy is by no means _____.

answer

defunct

question

Prehistoric peoples banded together into tribes, not only for protection, but also to satisfy their _____ instincts.

answer

gregarious

question

She sang a _____ little ditty about a man who yearns wistfully for the girl he left behind many years before.

answer

plaintive

question

A diplomat must always proceed on the assumption that no rupture between nations, no matter how serious, is _____.

answer

irreparable

question

The _____ threat of a nuclear holocaust that characterized the Cold War era changed many people's attitudes toward war in profound ways.

answer

omnipresent

question

The legal adage "Silence implies consent" means that not objecting to an action that concerns you is _____ to approving it.

answer

tantamount

question

In our desire to improve the quality of life in America, we should not be too quick to _____ an idea simply because it is new.

answer

espouse

question

When the scandal broke, the man found himself the _____ victim of other people's misdeeds.

answer

hapless

question

It is one thing to be concerned about discipline; it is quite another to make a _____ of it.

answer

fetish

question

I don't know which is more painful-- to have to ask someone for a favor or to have some unfortunate _____ one for help.

answer

importune

question

Fortunately, our lawyer was able to produce documents that disproved the _____ assertions of our former partner.

answer

mendacious

question

Faced with a tight deadline, the exhausted editor gave the young reporter's article a hurried and _____ edit.

answer

perfunctory

question

In the Poetics and the Metaphysics, Greek philosopher Aristotle discusses the purpose of art and identifies important _____ principles.

answer

aesthetic

question

After the death of his wife of seven decades, a grieving Mr. Johnson _____ in their quiet apartment.

answer

languished

question

"Despite taking an oath to tell the truth, Laurie offered clearly _____ testimony, "complained the frustrated defense attorney.

answer

mendacious

question

The whiny toddler _____ his mother for a snack.

answer

importuned

question

I was greatly relieved to learn that the accident I had with my car last week didn't do any _____ damage to the motor.

answer

irreparable

question

Every general seems to have one defeat that marks the _____ of his military fortunes-- for example, Lee at Gettysburg or Grant at Cold Harbor.

answer

nadir

question

One wall of the museum was filled with charms and _____ designed to ward off everything from a hangnail to the evil eye.

answer

fetishes

question

They claim to have made a thorough search of the premises, but I suspect that their efforts were no more than _____.

answer

perfunctory

question

Last night, Central High's Shooting Stars captured the basketball championship by _____ the South High Slammers, 61 to 44.

answer

discomfiting

question

When you get more experience on the job, you will learn that a "request" from your employer is _____ to an order.

answer

tantamount

question

No matter where candidates for high political office go these days, the _____ eye of the TV camera seems focused on them.

answer

omnipresent

question

"Don't you think it's a little foolish to pursue the young lady when your warm feelings for her are clearly not _____?" I asked.

answer

requited

question

Since extroverts are _____ by nature, they usually prefer not to live alone.

answer

gregarious

question

Responding to the melancholy note in the song of the nightingale, Keats wrote of its "_____ anthem."

answer

plaintive

question

To say that he is _____ does not even begin to convey just how alienated he is from any regard for the truth.

answer

mendacious

question

Never once has the least whiff of a scandal or impropriety tainted the man's _____ reputation as an upstanding member of this agency.

answer

impeccable

question

I thought our state legislators would consider the proposal at the earliest opportunity, but they let it _____ in committee for months.

answer

languish

question

From a(n) _____ point of view, the painting didn't appeal to me, but I kept it because it was a memento of my childhood.

answer

aesthetic

question

Suddenly I was surrounded by a mob of street urchins loudly _____ me for a handout.

answer

importuning

question

It's easy enough to back a popular program, but it takes real courage to _____ a cause that most people oppose.

answer

espouse

question

I felt a little foolish when the librarian told me that I was asking for the current issue of a magazine that had long been _____.

answer

defunct

question

The _____ creature had somehow gotten its foot caught in the grate and could not extricate it without help.

answer

hapless

question

As his irrepressible flow of reminiscences continued without a letup, I tried in vain to _____ a few observations of my own.

answer

interpolate

question

When asked what terms he would offer the Confederate army, General Grant made the _____ reply, "Unconditional surrender!"

answer

laconic

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