Vocabulary Test on The Gettysburg Address

In the numbered space, write the ONE word that BEST fits in ALL blanks in the sample sentences.

1. consecrate

After a life of crime, the gang leader __ed his fortune to charity after his death.

Westminster Abbey is where British monarchs have been __ed for centuries.

2. hallow

The Loyola University Bulletin praises "institutions __ed for their classical learning."

The saint was so highly regarded that her mere presence was said to __ the building she inhabited.

3. resolve

Let us __ the issue into four main parts, each delegated to a committee.

"Oh that this too, too solid flesh would melt, / Thaw, and __ itself into a dew!" —Shakespeare, Hamlet

4. note

The police made a lot of noise and fuss but failed to __ the most obvious clues.

She was "quick to __ a shadow of pain across his pale features." —W. J. Locke

5. detract

In the 18th century a mole on the face was so far from __ing from one's beauty that people pasted false moles on.

"Any attempt to give a rational proof of the mysteries of religion actually __s from faith." —Frank Thilly

6. proposition

The senator's __ to strike the bill's controversial language was accepted, and justice was returned to the back burner.

That there is life on other planets is quite an old __, at least as old as the seventeenth century.

7. devote

The prisoners __ed all their thoughts to planning an escape.

Alice has been __ing only half of her energy to caring for Henry; the other half she spends fighting with him.

8. endure

Sherburn said, "I'm tired of this, but I'll __ it until one o'clock. Till one o'clock, mind—no longer." Mark Twain

"There was never yet a philosopher / That could __ the toothache patiently." —Shakespeare, Much Ado about Nothing

9. dedicate

"We Americans are __ed to improvement." —Louis Kronenberger

It is customary for an author to __ a book to some person whose influence or aid helped to bring it into existence.

10. measure

"All too few of the British actresses . . . have received their __ of remembrance." —Saturday Review

Slaves who failed to produce the minimum __ of cotton at the end of the day were flogged.