Maria noticed that Mrs. Linn's curtains were still closed. Maria thought that was peculiar because Mrs. Linn always opened her curtains every morning.

The word peculiar means:

You must never explore a cave by yourself. It is essential for you to go with at least one other person.

The word essential means:

Tony worried that the kids at school would make fun of his new glasses. He did not want to be mocked just for having poor vision.

The word mocked means:

Please be careful with that vase. It is quite fragile.

The word fragile means:

Mother divided the cake into six equal portions for the children.

The word portions means:

The sun was low in the sky. Everyone was packing up and getting ready to go home because the park would close at dusk.

The word dusk means:

Dr. Calls had worked for years on the project. She had done a considerable amount of research and felt ready to present her work at the conference.

The word considerable means:

As Jake struggled to solve the problems on the test, it became apparent that he had not spent enough time studying.

The word apparent means:

Everyone contributed something for the food drive. Ana and her family donated a large bag of canned goods.

The word contributed means:

Michael's mother asked him to pick some peaches. He went out to the orchard with a basket and a ladder. When he came back, the basket was full.

The word orchard means:

Everyone had a good time at the picnic. The games were fun and the food was plentiful. In fact, there was so much food they had to take some home.

The word plentiful means:

Talia preferred the red shirt because she likes red more than yellow or blue.

The word preferred means:

Susan reduced the amount of paper she was using by always remembering to use both sides of each piece.

The word reduced means:

The book shelf was sturdy enough to hold all of Nathan's books without falling apart.

The word sturdy means:

On a typical day, Jane would eat lunch at noon. However, if she had a meeting at noon, she would not eat until 2:00.

The word typical means:

Benjamin ate three pieces of cake and two scoops of ice cream. An hour later, his stomach felt queasy and he decided to lie down for awhile.

The word queasy means:

Mom spent all day working in the garden. She felt weary and just wanted to go to bed.

The word weary means:

Allan was always bragging and showing off. His brother, David, on the other hand, was a quiet and humble boy.

No one lived in the old house. The paint was peeling and the yard was overgrown. It had been vacant for a long time.

The word vacant means: