1) Deceased means dead
When someone is deceased, they are dead — not dying or even just about to die. They are dead.
The word deceased has been around since the 15th century, however, when people talk of someone's having died, they rarely use deceased in conversation. For example, if you ask someone how their dog is and their dog is recently deceased, they'll most likely use a less technical phrase such as "no longer with us," or "passed away." The word deceased is more formal, and most often used in the documentation of death or in legal situations, as in "we are here to read the will of the deceased."
2) She took very kindly to me and was extremely confidential, so much so that sometimes she almost made me uncomfortable.
In this sentence, confidential means : indicating intimacy
If you get a letter stamped confidential, that means you're not supposed to tell anyone else what it says. It's private and you're not supposed to blab about it.
Confidential suggests that you're being let in on a secret — as in Kitchen Confidential, the title of a book by Anthony Bourdain, a famous chef, in which he tells unappetizing stories about the restaurant industry. If you confide in someone, you are trusting him or her with confidential or secret information. Choose your confidants wisely!
3) Judge Matsumoto would function as the enforcement agent for the decree and would have the power to hold the city in ________ or impose other penalties if the decree’s provisions were violated.
contempt
Reserve the noun contempt for an extreme lack of respect: a food snob has nothing but contempt for mass-produced burgers and fries at a fast-food joint.
Contempt has nothing to do with the verb condemn, despite the similarity in sound and meaning; it is from Latin temnere "to despise," and if you despise someone, you have contempt for them. It's a harsh term and should be used with care; it's stronger than either disdain or scorn. It suggests you find someone or something utterly worthless. That food snob might say the words "Big Mac" or "Whopper" with a voice dripping in contempt.
4) The Taliban strategic plan for the summer is likely to be to avoid excessive fighting in the south and east which is being reinforced with 30,000 new American soldiers.
In this sentence, reinforced means: given added strength or support
When something is reinforced, it is stronger or more supported than before, like a reinforced attitude that is stronger because peers and family members also have it, or a reinforced floor that has extra pillars and beams holding it up from below.
Reinforced is the adjective form of reinforce, a verb that means "to strengthen." So a good synonym for reinforced is strengthened. In high-traffic areas like school floors and stairwells, builders choose reinforced concrete, which has an internal structure of metal bars, because it will last longer. Your socks might have reinforced toes, meaning thicker fabric in that part, to prevent holes from forming.
5) "I suppose," he observed casually, "that even if Clark turned up now, it would be hard to convict him, wouldn't it?"
In this sentence, convict means to:
A convict is a person who has been found guilty — convicted — of a crime and is serving a sentence in prison.
When you convict (accent on the second syllable) someone of a crime, you find them guilty. The person is then a convict (accent on the first syllable). When the person is released from jail, he's an ex-con, that is, he's not a convict any more.
