Adroit (adj) adroit at… My friend is adroit at quoting movies from the 90s. Or, adroit___________ Jeremy is an adroit basketball player.

Amicable (adj) Amicable _____________(relationship, personality, etc…) “It was an amicable divorce.” “His amicable personality really draws people to him.”

Averse (adj) Always, averse to _________. averse to hard work averse to eating broccoli My brother has always been averse to eating certain types of nuts because of his allergies.

belligerent (adj, n) Adj: His belligerent personality turned people off to him. N: The two belligerents could not come to a mutual compromise.

benevolent (adj) a benevolent ___________. A benevolent person is one who makes an effort to help other people. The benevolent efforts of the aid organization helped many unfortunate people.

cursory (adj) a cursory ____________ I only gave the person a cursory glance until I realized it was my long lost friend. Brea only gave her notes a cursory look, so she didn’t do well on the test.

duplicity (n) I’m tired of your duplicity. This duplicity is getting troublesome. You can’t fool me with your duplicity.

extol (v) extol the ___________ of __________. My teacher always extolled the virtues of hard work. Doctors often extol the benefits of a healthy diet. Parents extol the payoff of responsibility.

feasible (adj) Is this a feasible plan? This scheme is feasible because…. It’s just not feasible to wait until the last night and expect to get your paper done.

grimace (v,n) He grimaced in pain. (v) Her grimace indicated the pain she was feeling. (n)

holocaust (n) Schoolchildren in the 50s and 60s had legitimate fears about an impending nuclear holocaust.

impervious (adj) Always, impervious to ___________. These shoes are impervious to moisture. Her tough personality made her impervious to any insults or attacks.

impetus (n) Impetus to _____, or impetus for ______. The low grade gave me the impetus to study more. The early snowfall was the impetus for me to go out and purchase a snowblower. That amazing Van Halen concert I saw gave me the impetus to take guitar lessons.

jeopardy (n) Always, in jeopardy Your grade is in jeopardy. The climbers were in jeopardy. The snowstorm put the climbers in jeopardy of catching hypothermia.

meticulous (adj) a meticulous _________, or is meticulous because…. She keeps meticulous notes. She can go back and find her expenses from 10 years because her financial records are meticulous.

nostalgia (n) Looking back at old yearbooks always fills me with a sense of nostalgia.

quintessence (n) Always, quintessence of _________ She is the quintessence of a student athlete. That was the quintessence of an entertaining game. An even better word: quintessential He is the quintessential student.

retrogress (v) Often, retrogress to ___________, or retrogress into _____________. The show Revolution shows how society retrogresses into a violent state without electric power.

scrutinize (v) Always, scrutinize _____________ Accountants are paid to scrutinize financial documents in search of tax breaks for their clients. The police officer carefully scrutinized my driver’s license.

tepid (adj) The audience gave a tepid response. The film received a tepid reaction on its opening weekend. The tepid cup of coffee was very disappointing, especially on a very difficult Monday morning.