(n.) an event with disastrous consequences (The earthquake in San Francisco was a _______ worse than any other natural disaster in history.)

(adj.) unlucky (My poor, _______ family never seems to pick a sunny week to go on vacation.)

(v.) to remove offensive or incorrect parts, usually of a book (The history editors _______ d from the text all disparaging and inflammatory comments about the Republican Party.)

(v.) to describe, outline, shed light on (She neatly _______ d her reasons for canceling the project's funding.)

1. (adj.) secondary (Divorcing my wife had the _______ effect of making me poor, as she was the only one of us with a job or money.) 2. (n.) security for a debt (Jacob left his watch as _______ for the $500 loan.)

(v.) to take up as a cause, support (I love animals so much that I _______ animal rights.)

(v.) to soothe, ease (The chairman of the Federal Reserve gave a speech to try to _______ investors' fears about an economic downturn.)

(adj.) easily angered (At the smallest provocation, my _______ cat will begin scratching and clawing.)

(n.) the quality of being reserved in speech or action; good judgment (Not wanting her patient to get overly anxious, the doctor used _______ in deciding how much to tell the patient about his condition.)

(v.) to decorate (We _______ ed the tree with ornaments.)