Unit 3 Vocab Choosing the right word

The new mayor is a curious mixture of the hardheaded pragmatist and the (utopian, murky) reformer.

• Utopian

• Murky

Not surprisingly, the address was a notably evenhanded affair in which the speaker cleverly mixed (eulogy, verbiage) with admonition.

• Eulogy

• Verbiage

Because the playwright had hurried through her first draft, she had to make (substantive, nefarious) changes as she revised the dialogue.

• Substantive

• Nefarious

The book has an interesting plot, but the author has practically smothered it in endless (verbiage, eulogy).

• Verbiage

• Eulogy

Despite all the reports of “miraculous” cures, you would be very well advised to withhold (verbiage, credence) until the drug has been fully tested.

• Verbiage

• Credence

(Exhumed, Distraught) with grief, they sat motionless for hours, staring blankly into space.

• Exhumed

• Distraught

An accomplished hypocrite usually finds it very easy to (dissemble, exhume) his or her true feelings as circumstances dictate.

• Dissemble

• Exhume

The behavior of armies in wartime often evinces the (murky, primordial) blood lust that civilized people have not yet fully overcome.

• Murky

• Primordial

The United States is cooperating with the other nations of the world in an effort to check the (distraught, nefarious) trade in narcotics.

• Distraught

• Nefarious

From the bridge, the rescue team could just make out the blurred image of a car beneath the (murky, utopian) waters of the river.

• Murky

• Utopian