20 fill-in-the-blank sentences based on 31 intermediate level English vocabulary words

Here are 20 fill-in-the-blank sentences using 20 of the 31 words below.  

a bouquet - a bunch or collection of flowers; usually a guy will buy a bouquet (pronounced boo-kay) for his girl friend

vigilant -  to keep vigil is to watch for something.  Vigilance is watchfulness.  If people want to protest something they will have a candlelight vigil (they will stand silently in a public place just holding candles). To be vigilant is to be watchful.

to obliterate - to wipe out completely. to eliminate

a prophecy -  a prediction of something.  Nostradamus made many accurate prophesies about the future.

to infringe on - to violate something is to infringe on something.  He infringed on my privacy by listening to our conversation at the cafe.

a penchant - a disposition or strong desire for something.  He demonstrated a penchant for the violin early in life.

coercive - forceful. Obama's new health plan is, to Republicans, too coercive - he will force people to buy insurance against their will and punish people who don't buy health insurance.

to dislodge - to force something loose.  A bone was stuck in the child's throat and the doctor had to dislodge it.

to bestow - to give something to someone.  The Nobel Prize for economics was bestowed on two Americans today.

to make accusations - to claim that someone did something wrong.  Roh Moo Hyun killed himself because he was faced with many accusations which he found embarrassing.

to unleash - to let go as if you have been holding back.  The US military unleashed its terrible power on the nation of Iraq after Saddam Hussein refused to allow UN inspectors to look at his weapons facilities.  You usually keep a leash on a dog or other wild animal.  To unleash it is to let it go so it will attack someone.

elusive - hard to capture or catch.  Winning a gold medal was elusive for Dan Jansen. He finally won one in his last race.

paternity - fatherhood.  There is a paternity test: although Jim denied he was the father of the child the DNA paternity test proved he was the guy.

stray - not on the "right" path.  The child was killed by a stray bullet.  When i was young i used to feed the stray dogs in my neighborhood (dogs living on the streets).

delusion - an illusion.  a mistaken idea.  The belief that Israel and the Palestinians will make a peace treaty soon is a total delusion.

to shatter - to break (i.e. glass or a mirror) into many pieces.

brutal - especially cruel, mean, harsh.

an interloper - someone who is somewhere that he doesn't belong.  An intruder.

to ferment - to allow to develop.  Wine is a form of fermented grapes.  The anger in Burma began to ferment into violence.

inflammatory - causing a fire, causing violence

bustling - exciting, busy. The streets of Flushing are always bustling with people.

profanity - vulgarity, dirty language

a disposition - the way one feels at any time.  His was a peaceful disposition - but he could easily become angry.

to stumble - to trip on something as you walk is to stumble.

to curb - to shorten.  Please curb your aggression!  He needed to curb the amount of alcohol he drank.

bluntness - being too straight forward or too candid. i.e. 'Dan your haircut sucks!' is an example of bluntness.

impeccable - blameless, pure, innocent

to bemoan - to criticize something or someone

to summon - to call someone to someplace

mitigating - having a softening effect.  I was angry my child was late for dinner but the fact that he was helping a neighbor was a mitigating factor and I stopped being angry.

to rejuvenate - to make someone or something feel or look young again

to be hooked on - to be hooked on something means to be addicted to something

Verbs can take any form in the answers below:

1) Bob would sometimes spend as much as 7 hours a day on the internet; clearly, he felt he needed to __________ the amount of time he spent online.

2) On Valentine's Day it is customary to buy your sweetheart a ____________ of roses or some other type of flower.

3) Because the two children were as white as could be, many people openly doubted the ____________ of Michael Jackson.  Indeed, after his death it was revealed that he had not been the actual, "biological" father.

4) Although the Mayor of New York claimed that police searches of bags and containers at MTA stations was essential to combat terrorism, I feel that it is not only a waste of time but that the searches ____________ on the privacy rights of passengers.

5) Although Susan Lucci had been on a television series for 20 years, she had never won an EMMY award.  Nobody was quite sure why this award had been so  _____________ for her.

6) Because I used to drink a lot of sugary soft drinks as a child, I am now __________ on soda and have a hard time going each day without a bottle of it.

7) The world was outraged that North Korea would fire a Taepodong 2 missile over Japan.  The Obama administration did not take any action, but indicated that the USA would be more ___________ toward North Korea and might punish them later if more missiles are shot.

8)  The United States Congress chose to __________ a human rights prize on the Dalai Lama, despite protests from China's Mr. Hu.  Obama suggested that Hu and the Dalai Lama should have a beer together with him at the White House. (joking)

9)  People are often surprised by how __________ Chinatown is in New York City. The streets are crowded with people shopping in the markets.

10)  Many politicians and public figures are expected to have ___________ reputations, yet they are often the most boring and incompetent people; perhaps less pure people would be better public servants.

11)  The man was clearly crazy as he ran through the crowd trying to stab people with a huge knife.  After he was caught and subdued by several men, it was quite a challenge to ___________ the knife from his grip.

12)  The movie 2012 was based upon the strange ____________ that in that year life on earth would change drastically and perhaps end.

13)  It is now thought that the dinosaurs were ____________ by a giant asteroid that collided with the planet earth 65 million years ago.

14)  Although everyone seems to agree that everyone has the right to affordable health care, many people are _______ many aspects of Obama's plan, such as the provision to fine people who do not buy insurance.

15)  Although Ted Kennedy seemed to have taken his job as a Senator seriously, he seemed to have an unquenchable _______________ for alcoholic beverages and women that seriously harmed his reputation.

16) There are, basically, two types of murder in the US - cold-blooded murder and hot-blooded.  The court system feels that killing under strong emotions is a ______________ factor and such a person's sentence will be less than the sentence of someone will plans or plots a murder.

17)  Kim Jong Un is the ___________ dictator of a regime which has falsely imprisoned thousands of its own people and executed numerous political prisoners.

18)  After Bob took his two week vacation in Aruba he felt completely _____________ and ready to go back to work as if he were a new person.

19)  Some officials of a certain large Asian country's government accused the Dalai Lama of inciting protests during the preparations for the 2008 Olympic games through ______________ speeches.  Many Americans wondered how a speech containing the sentence "Love your neighbor and forgive all who have wronged you." could be considered a statement calculated to incite violence, however.

20)  Although I value candor, I do not appreciate _______________; there is always a polite way to convey something to someone.


Answers are below:









Answers:

1. curb
2. bouquet
3. paternity 
4. infringed
5. elusive
6. hooked
7. vigilant
8. bestow
9. bustling
10. impeccable
11. dislodge
12. prophecy 
13. obliterated
14. bemoaning
15. disposition
16. mitigating
17. brutal
18. rejuvenated
19. inflammatory
20. bluntness