1.

peril (per′əl)
noun:exposure to harm or injury; danger; jeopardy
The loss report was accepted without reservation by the insurers, on the
basis of " perils of the sea " .

2. commotion (kə mō′s̸hən)

noun: violent motion; turbulence
Waiting outside, her friend soon heard a huge commotion inside the hall,
followed by loud applause.

3. oblivion (ə bliv′ē ən)

noun: a forgetting or having forgotten; forgetfulness
Remember six months ago when the club was staring oblivion in the face?

4.futile (fyo̵̅o̅t′'l; chiefly Brit & Cdn, fyo̵̅o̅′tīl′)

adjective: that could not succeed; useless; vain
It would be futile to attempt to estimate our final gains at the present
time.

5. sinister (sin′is tər)

adjective :Archaic on, to, or toward the left-hand side; left
Heraldry on the left side of a shield (the right as seen by the viewer)
She is sure Garry Ryan had something sinister to do with it - but
how can she prove it?
6. Asylum [uh-`sahy-luh m]
Noun: A place of sanctuary or rest, a refuge; also a home for the mentally
challenged.
People seeking asylum are not normally allowed to work in the UK.

7. dis·dain (dis dān′)

Verb:to regard or treat as unworthy or beneath one's dignity; specif., to refuse or
reject with aloof contempt or scorn
He sat for a second, then looked at me with total disdain.

8. craggy (krag′ē)
Adjective: having many crags; steep and rugged
The summit is unmarked and any one of half a dozen craggy outcrops
could be the highest point.

9. gro·tesque (grō tesk′)

Adjective: in or of a style of painting, sculpture, etc. in which forms of persons and
animals are intermingled as with foliage, flowers, or fruits in a fantastic or bizarre
design
Yet they have blind arches as decoration at their heads and these are
accompanied by what appear to be original medieval grotesques.

10.mot·ley (mät′lē)
Adjective: of many colors or patches of color
1. Rare wearing many-colored garments a motley fool
John surveys his motley crew with Chris at the wheel.

11. stupor (sto̵̅o̅′pər, styo̵̅o̅′-)

Noun: mental or moral dullness or apathy
In larger doses it causes stupor, coma and convulsions.

12. mettle (met′'l)

Noun:quality of character or temperament; esp., high quality of character; spirit;
courage; ardor
The first two days of the strike tested the mettle of both sides.
13. sluggish (slug′is̸h)
Adjective: not functioning with normal vigor
Why do you think the car feels a bit sluggish?

14. ger·mane (jər mān′)

Adjective: truly relevant; pertinent; to the point
She simply fails to see that motivation is just not germane to the facts or
to the truth.

15. frit·ter (frit′ər)

Noun: Rare a small piece; shred
Everyone who gives up their salary has access to the cash, and an
agreement exists not to fritter the money away on extravagance.

DIFFICULT ROUND

1. pewter (pyo̵̅o̅t′ər)
noun: any of various alloys containing mostly tin with varying percentages of
antimony, copper, lead, etc.
All products are hand crafted from the finest lead-free English pewter.

2. fraught (frôt)
adjective: filled, charged, or loaded (with): a life fraught with hardship
From jealous rivals, to witch hunters or insane elders; the night is fraught
with peril even for the undead.

3. feign (fān)
verb: Obsolete to form; shape
to make up (a story, excuse, etc.); invent; fabricate
Matt feigned unconsciousness, and was checked for ABC ( airway,
breathing, circulation ).

4. cypress (sī′prəs)
adjective: designating a family (Cupressaceae) of conifers including the
junipers
The alluvial flood plains in the Gulf region and the south east suited pines
and swamp cypress.

5. sanguine (saŋ′gwin)
adjective: of the color of blood; ruddy: said esp. of complexions
His sanguine temperament was disclosed in the deep color of his cheeks.

6. puerile (pyo̵̅o̅′ər əl, pyo̵or′əl; -īl′)

adjective: childish
Surely you must agree that his statement is a puerile comment from a
man who should know better.

7. raucous (rô′kəs, rä′-)

adjective: hoarse; rough-sounding: a raucous shout
G is brighter but also more strident and some hold it to be too raucous.

8. unequivocal (un′ē kwiv′ə kəl)

Adjective: plain; clear
The message I got from people was quite unequivocal.
drudgery (druj′ər ē)
noun pl. drudgeries -·er·ies
work that is hard, menial, or tiresome
9. wither (wit̸h′ər)
Verb: to weaken; languish affection that soon withered
They hoped services would cause poverty to wither away

10. spurge (spʉrj)

noun: any of a genus (Euphorbia) of plants of the spurge family, with milky
juice and minute, simplified flowers borne in cuplike inflorescences
Japanese spurge is excellent groundcover for areas of full or partial shade.

11. obscure (əb skyo̵or′, äb-)

adjective: lacking light; dim; dark; murky: the obscure night
However, this detailed analysis should be presented in such a way that does
not obscure clear hard facts, which justify the decision.

12. solace (säl′is)

noun: an easing of grief, loneliness, discomfort, etc.
He often needs to seek solace in places near water.

13. scintillation (sint′'l ā′s̸hən)

noun: spark ; flash
The concentration has to be measured using liquid scintillation.

14. languor (laŋ′gər)

noun: a lack of vigor or vitality; weakness
With thy clear keen joyance Languor cannot be: Shadow of annoyance
Never came near thee.

15. arduous (är′jo̵̅o̅ əs)

adjective: difficult to do; laborious; onerous
The heat combined with more than two weeks continuous pulling
made the job arduous.