The book is an attempt on the part of the eminent scholar to reconcile the ____ experience and theoretical underpinnings of certain everyday phenomena.

The teacher’s mercurial mood changes and ____ approach to grading made the students uneasy; they never knew what would please him or what would earn good marks.

This new staging of King Lear is not a production in which every aspect falls neatly into place throughout; however, the drama does ____ at certain points to give the audience memorable and thought-provoking moments.

After hours of acrimonious arguments the negotiations reached a(n) _____ ; neither side was willing to compromise.

The ____ tone of the biography is entirely unexpected since both the biographer in her previous works and her subject in all that he has written have valued levity over solemnity.

The devotion to the syllabus and testing regime has become so extreme that most school students close their minds to anything ____ to the needs of the examination.

The study’s ____ conclusion is that during the first half of the 20th Century improved standards of personal hygiene reduced the risk of an individual’s contracting poliomyelitis, yet tended to make the disease more lethal to communities.

Animal welfare charities have found that extensive advertising, especially over the Christmas period, can actually drive down the volume of donations as people who view images of maltreated pets more than a few times rapidly become ____ .

Mannering’s personal diary, a record of ____ preoccupations and domestic details, belies the depth of thought for which he was renowned in the academic world.

When faced with an urgent problem for which there is no immediately obvious solution, we tend to welcome any suggestion, however ____ , that might throw light on the dilemma.