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The example sentences come from the vocabulary list.
Patronizing
(-) (adjective) exhibiting a condescending, superior attitude; such behavior
Ex: I hate when my___English teacher says, “There, there, children.”
Perfunctory
(-) (adjective) done in a hasty, halfhearted, mechanical way
Ex: Blaine gave his sister a___”I’m sorry” when his mother insisted, “Apologize for hurting your sweet, innocent, perfect little sister’s feelings!”
Polemic
(-)
(adjective) controversial, debatable, argumentative
(noun) a fierce attack on someone’s opinions or principles; frequently used in the plural
Ex: Randall often engaged in___with his friends, until he met LaShaun, a master___who once out-debated Beelzebub!
Precipitous
(-) (adjective) steep; hasty; sudden; impetuous; headlong
Ex: A___action on my part resulted in my incarceration; I’ll think before I act from now on, for it was nasty in that jail cell.
Predilection
(noun) a fondness, preference, or predisposition
Ex: Knowing my father’s___for shellfish, I made him four big crab cakes before asking to borrow the car for the months of July and August.
Quixotic
(-) (adjective) loftily and impractically idealistic or romantic
Ex: The new mayor was accused of being___when she proposed giving every homeless person an apartment, an allowance, and a late-model used car.
Ransack
(-) (verb) to search thoroughly— often roughly and messily
think about how the author’s home was___in the book Red Scarf Girl
Ex: The cops___the hotel room but found no drugs; they then had to pay the manager for the chairs, bed, and dresser they’d wrecked in the process.
Raucous
(-) (adjective) descriptive of harsh, loud, and jarring noise
Ex: My favorite rock band, Raw-Raw___,plays fairly loud.
Rebuke
(-)
(noun) harsh criticism
(verb) to criticize or reprimand harshly
Ex: His face and hands red, Mark Antony said, “Let me explain why I stabbed Caesar, then if you disagree with my motives, you may___me.”
Rectitude
(+) (noun) great integrity and morality; uprightness
Ex: The politician attacked her opponent for his utter___: He never lied, never cheated, and never gave her anything she could attack. In short, she said, he wasn’t playing fair.
Redoubtable
(-) (adjective) causing fear or alarm; formidable; awe-inspiring
Ex: Jenkins, a___rooster, had no foes, for everybody knew he’d peck your eyes out if you got too close to one of his wives.
Reprehensible
(-) (adjective) despicable; villainous; really rotten
Ex: We love to watch the nasty, scheming,___people we see on soap operas each day because we know nobody for real would ever, ever act so abhorrently. (Well, may be a few.)
Skulk
(-) (verb) to sneak around, usually with a malevolent intent
Ex: ___through the gutter, Buster and Bubba stalked one another, muttering, “Gonna get that blutherin’ nubber!”
Specious
(-) (adjective) false, but appealing and seemingly true or genuine— usually said of evidence or of a line of reasoning
Note: This word was on list 7.
Ex: One frequently used___statistic begins with the words “Nine out of 10 doctors surveyed…” Advertisers often survey doctors they’ve chosen.
Sporadic
(adjective) irregular; occasional; on-and-off
Ex: The lightening storm interrupted our phone conversation with___crackling, zizzing, spluffing gritzzes through the earpiece.
Spurious
(-) (adjective) fake; bogus; trumped-up— usually said of an accusation
Note: This word was on list 7
Ex: Ok, you’ve called me a “no-good, lying, crud-bum”; are you going to back that up, or is that just a___outburst from an acknowledged dibblescab like you?
Staid
(adjective) serious, proper, prim, sober— usually said of a person
Ex: Judge Lammark, the most___justice in the entire court system (he was never known to smile) secretly wore Winnie the Pooh socks.
Stanch
(verb) to stop the flow of blood from a wound
Note: This word was on list 1.
Ex: Yuk. Help me___this nauseating gash on Stella’s neck, please.
Strident
(-) (adjective) describing a loud, shrill, irritating sound— often used in describing argumentative voices
Ex: My mom’s voice got a little___when I told her about the wrinkle in the hood of her new Jaguar.
Suffuse
(+) (verb) to spread throughout
Ex: When Nancy walked through the door, a pinkish light accompanied by the faint aroma of flowers___the room; it was eerie, but enchanting.
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