The penniless adventurer is a character so familiar to fiction readers as to render further description of the type _________.

________ by the weight I had gained over the summer, I was dropped from basketball squad after the first practice session.

In a totalitarian state, people who do not ________ firmly to the party line are likely to find themselves in hot water with the authorities.

What real use is financial independence if a person remains forever in _______ to foolish fears and superstitions.

Frankly, I am tired of your endless _______ complaints about all the people who have been unfair to you.

The author's writing style is a ______ as the sparkling waters of a mountain lake on a spring morning.

The novel's grim humor and ______ portrayal of the futility of all human endeavor make it an intensely disturbing book.

I was amazed when I looked through the microscope and observed the ______ pattern of blood vessels in the specimen's body.

That village is famous all over the world for its fancy cottages, well-manicured lawns, and _____ gardens.

She is very slow to form opinions; but once she does, she holds on to them _______.

"The witness has changed his story so often that no jury on earth is likely to find his testimony _______," the district attorney observed.

If we want government to provide services, we must pay taxes to _______ the costs.

Even after the most systematic and _______ search, we could not find the missing documents.

In some early societies, people who had committed certain crimes could ______ for them by paying sums of money of their victims.

If we were to lose the basic freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights, we would be truly _____.

I know that love is fickle, but I never expected to be ______ in her affections by such an unworthy guy who also wanted to be her boyfriend.

"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names never hurt me" is an old saying I try to keep in mind whenever someone ______ me.

Loss of blood very quickly turned the victim's normally rosy face a ______ hue of white.

Royalties (money earned) from a novel that is published ______ normally go to the deceased author's estate/family.