All those who __________ with the enemy in the hope of gaining special favors will be punished severely.

She raised so many objections to attending the dance that it was obvious she was __________ for an excuse not to go.

The assembly speaker may have been boring, but that was no excuse for the students’ __________ behavior toward him.

There are times when we all need to be __________ away from old, familiar ideas that may no longer be as true as they once seemed.

At midnight, the sentry took his post, standing __________ over the cache of weapons.

I refuse to accept the excuse that the pressures of a new job caused you to __________ to your old habit of cigarette smoking.

The principal was quick to approve new programs for our club but __________ in providing financial support for them.

The “broken-down old furniture” that the woman left to her children turned out to be a(n) __________ of valuable antiques.

A single word of praise from the coach meant more to me than all the loud but thoughtless __________ of the crowd.