1. She was a _______ and did not take her painting classes seriously.   pariah   virtuoso   fanatic   dilettante   partisan   Hint Hint       2. The drought prompted the farmers to _______ the Rain God through various offerings.   propitiate   debilitate   censure   perpetuate   acclaim   Hint       3. The publisher was out of stock within a fortnight after he received a _______ of orders for the new book.   carnage   conflagration   cavalcade   plethora   paucity   Hint       4. The cartoonist was a _______ who could sketch a comic strip with _______ ease and great thought.   virtuoso..incredible   zealot..whimsical   connoisseur..incredulous   gourmet..grandiose   dilettante..unwarranted   Hint       5. The cross-border terrorism _______ the bitterness already existing between the two countries.   endorsed   confounded   exacerbated   abridged   deprecated   Hint       6. The villagers administered the _______ to _______ the effects of the snake venom.   poison..preempt   antibody..protract   antidote..counteract   antiseptic..amplify   placebo..negate   Hint       7. The school headmaster averred that he could _______ minor lies but could not pardon such _______ lie.   extricate..a spurious   condone..an egregious   confound..an insipid   amend..an expedient   emend..a dubious   Hint