Context Clues

We have lofty expectations for you, son. You will attend college and be elected president of the United States before you turn forty.Lofty means:

When Kim and Kia were fighting over a boy, Shana stepped in as a mediator. She sat them both down and got them talking to each other again. Mediator means: 

The cruise ship had difficulty NAVIGATING the waters due to its large size.

Mary, of course you’re always tired. Most nights you stay up late working and infrequently take a day off. What does “infrequently” mean? 

He was really scared of the GIGANTIC, or huge, spider. He had never seen such a large spider in his life.

If you don’t get help quickly for your condition, it could become chronic. Then you may have to take medicine for the rest of your life. Chronic means:

I'm working hard for the same candidate that you support. You're doing it for pay but I'm not doing this for money. I’m doing it out of conviction. Conviction means: 

I was working with three other students on a group project for Science class. We had so many disagreements that we had to ask the teacher to help us resolve our issues. Resolve means: 

My backpack is DURABLE. I've had it for eight years and it still hasn't broken.

Owls are NOCTURNAL. They fly around and look for food at night

My mom usually likes to stick to a schedule and plan things way ahead of time, so I was surprised when she took us on a SPONTANEOUS trip.

I like that store. The employees care about their customers and strive to make the customers feel right at home. Which word is a synonym of “strive”?

Gerard was so hungry that for lunch he CONSUMED three sandwiches and a quart of milk.

The teacher told them it was time for INDEPENDENT work, but he had some questions so he went to the teacher for help.

No one suspected that Jerry was a spy. On the surface he behaved like any normal citizen. When his covert activity was discovered and announced to the world, we were all shocked. Covert means: 

He breathed deeply, more interested in DETECTING the faint smell of the meatloaf.

The home team made sure the officials were on their side. They won the championship but no one from any other town would accept the winners as legitimate champions. Legitimate means:

Tracy held the flower as gently as she could, fearing that the DELICATE stem would break.

I looked at the plans for your new house. This is earthquake country. You need to fortify the frame or you’ll have a disaster with the first tremor. The word fortify means: 

She wondered whether the flowers on the food were EDIBLE or if they were just for decoration.

Connie is never happy when everyone is getting along. She always instigates fights and then acts like little Miss Innocent. When you instigate something, you __________. 

It seemed very doubtful whether he would ACCOMPLISH his desire. He would need to work very hard to reach his goals.

Lisa said, “Mia, why are you making such a big deal about Linda's hair? Yes, she did dye it purple and it's an odd color. But so what? It's such a trivial matter. ”Trivial means: