Sentences:  Fletcher taught people to ____ their food well.  The
mouse ____ the cheese, but the trap did not spring.  A horse ____ his bits. 
When I ____ into the apple, I found that it was sour.  The rat ____ a hole
through the board.

Break, crack, fracture, sever, rend, burst, smash, shatter, shiver, splinter, sunder, rive, crush, batter, demolish, rupture. (After discriminating these terms for yourself, see the treatment of break, fracture under Break, fracture above under Parallels.)

Sentences:  “____ my timbers!” the old salt exclaimed.  The anaconda
is an immense serpent that wraps itself about its victim and ____ it. 
The child blew the soap bubble wider and wider till it ____.  “You
may ____, you may ____ the vase if you will.”  Looking closely at the eggs,
she perceived that one of them was ____.  With a board the thoughtless
child ____ the anthill.  During a violent fit of coughing he ____ a blood
vessel.  The thick cloud was ____ and the sunshine streamed through.

Careful, cautious, wary, circumspect, canny.

Sentences:  A mouse must be ____ lest it be caught in a trap.  He had
learned to be ____ in advancing his radical opinions.  The man was a Scot
and therefore ____.  With a ____ movement I opened the door to investigate
the strange noise.  He was ____ in checking up the accounts.  Be extremely
____ in your behavior, for they are watching to criticize you.

Condescend, deign, vouchsafe.

Sentences:  The king ____ them safe conduct through the country.  He
would not ____ to touch the money that had been gained dishonestly.  His
____ manner irritated them.  The master ____ to hear the complaints of the
servants.

Confirm, corroborate, substantiate, verify_.

Sentences:  He ____ the charge with positive proof.  The finding of
Desdemona’s handkerchief ____ Othello’s belief that she was guilty.  The
other witnesses ____ his testimony.  The doctor ____ the appointment his
assistant had made for him.  He ____ his results by repeating the
experiment a number of times.

Courage, bravery, resolution, dauntlessness, gallantry, boldness, intrepidity, daring, valor, prowess, fortitude, heroism. (With this group contrast the Fear group, below.)

Sentences:  It seemed they must be driven from their works but they
held to them with the utmost ____.  He had the ____ to fight an aggressive
battle, but not the ____ to stand for long days upon the defensive; less
still did he have the ____ to disregard unjust criticism.  The silent ____
of the women who bide at home surpasses the ____ the warriors who engage
in battle.  He had the dashing ____ of a cavalry officer.

Cruel, brutal, ferocious, fierce, savage, barbarous, truculent, merciless, unmerciful, pitiless, ruthless, fell. (With this group contrast the Kind group, below.)