A dance critic wants readers to admire the lead's build. Which word best completes the sentence? "The lead dancer is ___ and light on her feet."

A teacher writing a recommendation wants the reader to admire how many questions a student asks. Which word fits the blank? "Devon is the most ___ student in the class."

A sports profile means to praise a young pitcher's self-belief. Which word belongs in the blank? "He walked to the mound ___ and calm."

A magazine wants readers to respect a scientist's twenty-year search. Which word best completes the sentence? "Her ___ pursuit of a vaccine never let up."

A newspaper wants readers to approve of how the school board handles money. Which word fits? "The board has been ___ with every dollar of the levy."

A food writer wants readers' mouths to water. Which word completes the sentence? "The ___ of bread drifted out of the bakery door."

A gallery review means to praise a painter's sense of wonder. Which word belongs in the blank? "His landscapes keep a ___ delight in color."

A short story wants readers to feel sympathy for a shy new student. Which word fits? "At lunch she was ___, eating at the end of the long table."

A yearbook page means to admire a team captain's leadership. Which word completes the sentence? "She is ___ in the huddle and in the locker room."

A rental listing wants readers to find a one-room cabin appealing. Which word fits the blank? "The cabin's single room is ___ enough for two."

A columnist wants readers to disapprove of an owner who will not pay for a better roster. Which word fits? "The owner has been ___ with the payroll for a decade."

Cemetery and graveyard share the denotation "a place where the dead are buried." Which difference between them is a difference in connotation?

A report reads, "The clerk scribbled the delivery time on the back of an envelope." What weight does scribbled carry?

"The restorers did painstaking work on the water-damaged ceiling." Which weight does painstaking carry here?

"The witness walked to the front of the room and sat down." What weight does walked carry?

A school board story reads, "Two members meddled in the hiring of the new coach." What weight does meddled carry?

"The city purchased four acres beside the river last spring." Which weight does purchased carry?

"The volunteers devoted every Saturday of the winter to the food bank." What weight does devoted carry?

A city column reads, "A stench rose from the storm drain at the corner all August." What weight does stench carry?

"The inspectors arrived at the plant on Tuesday morning." Which weight does arrived carry?

A game story reads, "The winner gave a smug wave to the section behind the bench." What weight does smug carry?

"A generous donor covered the team's travel costs for the season." What weight does generous carry?

A dictionary defines snake as "any of numerous limbless scaled reptiles." Which statement is about the associations snake carries rather than that meaning?

Which statement gives the denotation of cottage rather than its connotation?

House and home share the denotation "a place where someone lives." Which difference between them is a difference in connotation?

Which pair of words shares a denotation but differs in connotation?

Two students disagree about what connotation means. Which statement defines it correctly?

A writer swaps thin for scrawny because a thesaurus lists them together, and the sentence now insults its subject. What does that show about a thesaurus entry?

Slender and scrawny both denote "thin." Which difference between them is a difference in connotation?

A dictionary defines mother as "a female parent." Which statement about mother is about its connotation?

A game story reads, "The coach barked the same play at his guards for the whole fourth quarter." What does barked suggest about him?

A campaign report reads, "The aides parroted the same three phrases to every reporter who called." What does parroted suggest?

A biography reads, "She pored over shipping records for six months before writing a page." What does pored over suggest about her research?

A news story reads, "The company's spokesman conceded that the wells had leaked since March." What does conceded suggest about how he said it?

An editorial reads, "The budget was cobbled together in the week before the vote." What does cobbled together suggest about the budget?

A book review reads, "The hero blunders into every trap the plot sets for him." What does blunders suggest about the hero?

A profile reads, "The rookie devoured the playbook in a single weekend." What does devoured suggest about her?

A story reads, "The manager snapped that the store had stopped giving refunds." What does snapped tell readers?

A news column reads, "By nine o'clock a mob of ticket holders filled the plaza." What does mob suggest about the group?

A race report reads, "He looked gaunt at the finish, twelve pounds lighter than he had been in June." What does gaunt suggest?