Vocabulary Review - Week 14

Since her objections to the plan were clearly _________, I thought that she was being _________. After all, if she had been serious, her comments would have had more substance.

• plausible... articulate

• genial ... solicitous

• inaudible ... forthright

• frivolous ... facetious

Some of my friends have remarkably __________ memories from which nothing ever seems to escape. Unfortunately, I've been blessed with a memory that is as ________________ as a sieve.

• staid . . . durable

• retentive . . . porous

• ample . . . volatile

• devoid . . . prodigious

Elected officials cannot be too careful about their behavior while in office. If they become ________ about matters of right and wrong, they may do things that the average citizen of this country does not consider _________. Such mistakes could cost the offenders their jobs.

• solicitous . . . plausible

• obsessed . . . prodigal

• blase . . . ethical

• resolute . . . indiscriminate

During the bloody ___________________ of the early 1930s, Joseph Stalin "liquidated" every potential rival whom he feared might one day seek to ____________ him from his position as absolute master.

• purges . . . oust

• repercussions . . . sustain

• premonitions . . . ostracize

• jurisdictions . . . intrigue

Though I tried to ______________ my words clearly and distinctly, the roar of the storm caused my voice to be almost ____________.

• sustain . . . ample

• bolster . . . abashed

• articulate . . . inaudible

• muster . . . prone

An _________ is an everyday expression that should be understood figuratively, not literarlly.

• idiom

• idiot

• iditorad

An _________ is an everyday expression that should be understood figuratively, not literarlly.

• idiom

• idiot

• iditorad

Which idiom matches the following definition:

be unaware of what's going on in the world

• living under a rock

• in over his head

• challenged by a task beyond one's ability or means

unable to act due to restrictions

• my hands are tied

• wet behind the ears

• got your back

young and inexperienced

• wet behind the ears

• left holding the bag

• spread herself too thin