The teacher's lesson was hard to follow; it could have benefitted from fewer _______ and personal anecdotes.

Marvel shows and movies are practically _______. It feels like they release a new one every week!

Philosophers and anthropologists often ask whether people are born with natural gifts or if people _______ all their skills over time.

The dictator's _______ schemes were soon brought to light by investigative journalists.

George Lucas has gone on record to say that the Flash Gordon serials of the 1930's were a _______ to Star Wars as he took direct inspiration from them.

No matter how many times I tried, I couldn't break into my brother's safe as a kid; the secrets of his _______ Superman box safe remain a mystery to this day.

The soldiers unwittingly _______ the borders of a sovereign nation and, as a result, had to flee from the native military.

His _______ for driving teachers crazy was present from the first day of school.

The parents were left clueless about how to help their son's _______ sorrow after his breakup.

The woman walked the line between coming across as _______ or just highly loyal to her country.

An unfortunate part of our culture is people's desire to obtain _______ above all else.

While I am not a fan of cauliflower, I wouldn't go as far to say that I _______ it.

Many critics accuse the character of James Bond of being _______; in response, the filmmakers have paired him with strong female characters in recent films to balance his outdated worldview.

The airstrike successfully _______ the opposing army's infantry.

I don't see why the corn maze is such a big deal; I don't personally enjoy getting lost in a _______ of crops and dust.

The _______ defendant kept making jokes at the expense of the prosecuting lawyer; the jury was not impressed with his attempts at humor.

With a broken and _______ heart, she left his apartment for the last time, knowing that she had just made the biggest mistake of her life.

The sheer _______ of action figures, trading cards, and comic books owned by the collector were equally impressive and concerning.

The manager required David to double-check all the books before she felt comfortable filing the company's taxes; the _______ of looking through the endless files almost drove him crazy.