For the first blank, we need an adjective that describes the duchess's overdressed companions. Possible choices include "salacious" (overtly sexual) "gauche," (awkwardly unsophisticated) and "florid" (complicated, perhaps excessively). For the second blank, we need a word that means decorated gaudily, and "bedizened" means exactly that. So, the correct answer is "florid . . . bedizened."

From the guard's description, we can tell that any word that means something like warlike or threatening will fit in the first blank, so "bellicose" and "pugnacious," (which both mean warlike) and "minatory" (which means threatening) are all possible options. For the second blank, we need to choose between "gainsay," "disabuse," and "rarefy." Since "gainsay" means to contradict, the correct answer is "minatory . . . gainsay."

For the first blank, we need an adjective that means something like threatening. "Baleful" and "inauspicious" could each work. For the second blank, we need a word that describes what the sea is doing in the storm; between "welter," which means move tumultuously, and "oscillate," which means to swing back and forth at a constant rate, "welter" is the better choice, so the answer is "baleful . . . welter."

The word "instead" indicates that the manager would not assign the tedious tasks to his experienced workers but would assign them to the junior team members. That is, the word "instead" triggers a parallel between the verb of the main clause and the participle "assigning" in the introductory dependent clause. To "delegate" something is to assign something to a less senior person in a group or team. The blank before "work" needs to be an adjective describing that work. Given that the tasks are called "tedious," it is best to choose "dull," which is closest in meaning to the earlier description of the work.

The word "although" gives a clue to what the sentence is about—it's a reversal—so the two blanks should be opposites. "Amicable" and "reprimanded" fit best: if the director is normally friendly, it is suprising that he/she delivers a reprimand—a rebuke—to the actor.

To "conclude" means to end; the second part of the sentence after the semi-colon makes it clear the scientists are ending their work, and should not continue, as they already have clear results. "Futile" in this case means counterproductive or pointless; "sensible" is its opposite.

The words in the blanks must have dissimilar meanings since the two phrases are separated by the word “but.” “Enervated” means drained of energy, so it is dissimilar to “urgent” and, unlike “distracted,” it is a state that is likely to be caused by a monotonous voice.

“Corroborate” means provide support for, and “craven” means cowardly. This is the only answer choice in which both words work together.

While "vacillate" and "oscillate" can both mean to waver, "vacillate . . . inherently" is correct because the second answer choice, “inherently,” makes more sense than “tacitly.” A quality that is "inherent" is one that is permanent and essential to something, in this case, to humankind. "Tacit" means that something is implied without being openly acknowledged.

The first word must be an adjective that describes something that you should not believe, and "tawdry" does just that because it means of little value or gaudy. The second word needs to be a verb that describes what tabloids do to sell print copies. "Manufactured" is the best choice here because it means to make up or invent in this context. None of the other answer choices make sense in the context of the sentence.