1. EXPLICIT

Unless you give me __ directions to your house, I'll get lost.

The syllabus makes my grading standards __.

2. DISPOSITION

The creature's gigantic size and hideous ugliness frightened people, so no one ever discovered its gentle __.

The serenity of Marcia's __ was never clouded with the least shadow of anger or dismay.

3. OBLIGATE

Andrew Carnegie believed the rich to be __ed to perform acts of public charity like founding libraries.

Showering guests with gifts was designed to __ them to the host in the future.

4. DISSOLVE

The purpose of the American Revolution was to __ the bands tying the states to Great Britain.

By making it difficult to __ a marriage, the legislators force married people to reconsider before divorcing.

5. MATRIARCHAL

__ societies tend to exhibit the values of nurturing, tolerance, and diplomatic resolution of disagreements.

Queen Victoria's __ mixture of authority, dignity, and affection won her the adoration of her people.

6. PREDOMINATE

Moral and humane tendencies normally __ over the sadistic strain in human nature."—Alfred Cobban

You can find hardwoods in these forests, but maple and pine __.

7. PROCREATIVE

Clare and John didn't want to raise a family; their relationship was full enough without any __ component.

Luckily the McCoys were a very __ family, for their feud with the Jamisons cost them one son after another.

8. PERSIST

The lemming provides a good example of how migration instincts __ long after they cease to be beneficial.

If the cough should __ after a day's treatment, call the doctor again.

9. STAPLE

It almost goes without saying that the __ goods stocked by a hardware store should include nails and screws.

"The __ diet of all true Mexicans . . . is the tortilla."—Green Peyton

10. INDIGENOUS

Nightingales are __ to England but are never heard in America.

The Japanese beetle is so called because it is __ to Japan; unfortunately it has been imported into the USA.

11. ANTIQUATED

The young man wrote in a highly __ style, with flourishes and curlicues.

Lucia's granddaughters loved her in spite of her strict and __ ideas of how "young ladies" should behave.

12. RESIDE

You are taxed by the state in which you __, not by the one in which you are employed.

"The buck stops at the Captain" means that ultimate responsibility for the ship's safety __s in him.