Verbs only
The teacher had to ______ the class for their poor behavior.
admonish
He has strong and _____ views on politics.
opinionated
After the earthquake, rescuers began digging through the _____ in search of survivors.
debris
Verb or adjective?
The debate was diffuse, with many voices heard but no single clear leader.
Diffuse is an adjective in this case because it is describing what the debate was like.
If the voices were actually in the act of diffusing in the sentence (Many voices diffused throughout the room...), then it would be verb.
The family meeting ended in a _____ over whether to vacation at the Grand Canyon or Disney World.
deadlock
The athlete had to _____ his title due to a doping violation.
relinquish
During the emotional testimony, her voice became _____, marked by sudden, uncontrollable catches and gasps.
spasmodic
The authorities chased the ______ after he stole from the market.
brigand
Adjective or noun?
Flooding is a perennial problem for people living by the river
Perennial is an adjective in this case because it is describing the problem. Perennial means that it happens a lot.
When perennial is used as a noun, it usually means flowers or plants.
The instructions _____ him further, leaving him even more confused
muddled
Her ability to _____ herself and blend into any crowd is remarkable.
efface
The banks took too many risks and should have been more _____ in their dealings.
circumspect
The report was a complete _____, making it difficult to understand the findings.
muddle
Verb or noun?
The salvage from the wrecked ship included valuable cargo and rare artifacts recovered from the deep sea.
Salvage is a noun in this sentence. You can tell because it is a thing rescued from the ship. Nouns often have "a, an, or the" in front of them, and in this case salvage has "the" in front of it.
It would be a verb if the saving was happening in the moment: We salvaged cargo from the ship.
The _____ in the garden attract bees and butterflies every year.
perennials
Civilians were _____ by the army and forced to fight.
commandeered
The team celebrated their victory with _____ joy.
unbridled
City councilors ended up in a deadlock over the law.
deadlock
Verb or noun?
After the party, the living room was in a muddle of empty cups and food scraps.
Muddle is a noun in this case because it is a thing. One way you can tell is it has "a" in front of it (nouns often have "a, an, or the" in front of them).
Muddle would be a verb if it was used as an action: We muddled the living room.
He fought to _____ the company’s reputation after the scandal.
salvage
Your family history may _____ you to hypertension.
predispose
Worth double if you get both correct!
Everyone knows Janice is trying to pass her _____ designer handbag off as the real thing.
The inexperienced knight found it difficult to walk in the _____ armor.
spurious
cumbersome
This is clearly a breach of the treaty.
breach
Verb or noun?
He felt guilty for breaching her trust by revealing her secret.
Breach is a verb in this case because "he" is doing the action in the sentence. Breaching is the action that the subject of the sentence is doing.
Breach would be a noun if you talked about "a breach" as a thing.
The civilization _____ westward over centuries.
diffused