He was staring me straight in the eye, neither pleased nor displeased, his expression __?__ .

His __?__ temperament and erratic behavior made him an ineffective ruler.

It is time yet again to __?__ the flow of unsolicited nonsense that somehow reaches me as e-mail.

The singer's staff had to __?__ him against fans who wanted to get near him.

His __?__ speech allowed him to express not only what he was thinking but also what he was feeling.

The government was __?__ in its refusal to negotiate with terrorists.

Charles Dickens's Mr. Pickwick has such a cheerful and sympathetic __?__ that few can resist him.

She is working on what she hopes will be the __?__ biography of Emily Dickinson.

Our dog's friendliness would __?__ the sternest efforts of the most expensive guard-dog trainer.

The only evidence of a once thriving civilization is this __?__ against the ocean tides.

Jimmy Stewart's portrayal of his character in It's A Wonderful Life was poignant without being __?__ .

Paging through historical picture books is a fascinating study in __?__ standards through the centuries.

Some moderate __?__ is due to the boss, but too much can seem to conceal other motives.

After the __?__ had finally subsided, we asked the group to give us a written list of all their complaints.

The senator hoped to __?__ her angry public, but nothing she said was likely to get her reelected.

She was a(n) __?__ , and no matter how much money she earned, she always spent more than she had.

He was the family's __?__ son, the charming one from whom nothing was expected.

If you have the (bulwark, enigmatic, requisite) coordination and an ear for music, I'll pay for your first year of dance instruction.

They would __?__ a certain sum each year to a local charity.

If a crying toddler has been calmed, you might say he or she has been:

Which of the following is the opposite of fathomable?

A payment that has been sent in has been:

Which of the following would you not use to describe someone who is careful about money?

Another word for foreboding might be:

Which of the following might be another words for obligation?

"The letter also explained that the proposed budget would restore funding for items that had previously been cut; for example, indoor basketball hours had been curtailed and the Saturday children's read-along had been eliminated."

Curtailed most nearly means:

My parents and I agreed with each point and madesure to attend the meeting yesterday evening. Fortunately, everything went well. The Trustees listened to the programs' supporters with deference and were not at all adamant about preserving the cuts that had been made."

Which of the following words could be used to replace deference?

"My parents and I agreed with each point and madesure to attend the meeting yesterday evening. Fortunately, everything went well. The Trustees listened to the programs' supporters with deference and were not at all adamant about preserving the cuts that had been made."

Which of the following could not be used to replace adamant?

"Towards the end of the meeting, they handed us a definitive victory by approving the new budget."

If a victory is definitive, it is: