Scholastic Assessment Test Vocabulary: Degree

Arrows, totals, and tiny sums crowded the margin of every line in the harbor ledger. Those copious notes sent the clerk looking for a second book. What fullness has taken over the margin?

Copious notes are plentiful, written in a large quantity. So many figures fill the margin that one book is no longer enough.

April's rain gauge held only a film at the bottom, and the cistern hatch opened on damp stone. The month went into the log as scant. How little rain is that label recording for the town tanks?

Scant rain is very little, hardly any. A film in the gauge means the cistern gained almost nothing.

The last furrow took its seed, and a full sack still sat unopened by the gate. The gardener marked the leftover ample. Ample seed means the supply finished with what leftover?

Ample seed is more than enough for the job. Planting finished with a whole sack still unused.

A hairline crack crossed one corner tile in a floor of several hundred. The inspector marked the flaw negligible and signed the sheet. Why can that crack be left as it is?

A negligible flaw is so small it does not matter to the decision. One hairline crack among hundreds of tiles can be ignored.

The windmill bucket rode a long cable and was still dry when the reel showed its deepest mark. The well card described a profound shaft. Still dry at the deepest mark, the water lies at what depth?

A profound shaft is extremely deep. The bucket travels a great distance below the ground before it can fill.

The kiln card for the blue glaze named a middle setting, neither the low drying heat nor the top firing line. The potter set the dial to moderate. For the blue glaze, that dial should hold which band of heat?

Moderate heat sits in the middle, away from both extremes. The glaze needs a medium temperature, not a cool dry and not the hottest fire.

Frost silvered the west rows of the orchard and left the east rows green on the morning map. The foreman wrote partial across the sheet. East rows stay green, so frost has covered which portion of the trees?

Partial coverage is incomplete. Only the west rows froze, and the east rows remain bare of frost.

Pier 4's outage report listed every lamp from the gangway to the end post as dark. The harbor office stamped the outage absolute. Did any lamp on that pier stay lit?

An absolute outage is total, with no exception. Every lamp on Pier 4 went out, so none stayed on.

Kelp packed the intake grate until water barely threaded through. The dawn note called the growth abundant and assigned a clearing crew. Clearing starts against a plant mass of what size?

Abundant kelp is present in a large quantity. The grate is choked because so much plant matter has piled up.

Nests in the marsh sat with long stretches of empty reed between them. The bird count described the colony as sparse. Long stretches of empty reed place the nests in what arrangement?

Sparse nests are few and thinly scattered. Wide gaps of empty reed separate one nest from the next.

A chip on the lens rim showed only when the buyer tilted the glass toward the window. The seller described the chip as minute. Tilting the glass is what it takes to notice the chip, so a buyer might keep the lens for what reason?

A minute chip is extremely small. It is easy to miss and does not spoil the glass for use.

Two survey flags on the salt flat could not be seen together even from a rise. The map legend called the flat vast. One rise cannot hold both flags, so they stand separated by what sort of distance?

A vast flat covers a very large area. The flags stand so far apart that one view cannot hold both.

The tide stick's new mark sat a finger above yesterday's dried line. The harbor log called the change slight. The slight rise is a climb of what height?

A slight rise is small in degree. The water moved only a little above yesterday's line.

Core samples from the ridge kept striking ore for the full length of the drill. The assay office called the body immense. Full-length ore in every core commits the mine to digging on what scale?

An immense ore body is extremely large in scale. The mine is looking at a huge mass of ore running the full length of the drill.

A pencil smudge sat beside one page number in the index, and the number itself was still clear. The editor called the smudge trivial. Does a readable page number still need a reprint because of that mark?

A trivial smudge is too small to matter. The page number can still be read, so the page does not need reprinting.

Festival sacks took most of the morning's flour, leaving the bakery case half empty. The baker called the draw substantial. A customer at the half-empty case can tell that substantial draw by glancing at which shelves?

A substantial share is large and solid in amount. Most of the morning's flour went out, which is a major portion.

Prize coins in the fair jar barely covered the glass bottom, though the poster had promised a heaped reward. A player called the total paltry. A heaped reward was promised, and the jar delivers a prize that fails how?

A paltry sum is insultingly small. The jar holds far too little money for the reward that was promised.

The archive inventory gave a line to every shelf, every box, and every loose folio in the wing. The archivist called the list exhaustive. An exhaustive list of the wing has skipped how many items?

An exhaustive list includes everything. No shelf, box, or folio in the wing was skipped.

Scratches webbed the table's varnish, and a cloth wiped the white marks away without touching bare wood. The refinisher called the damage superficial. Do the white marks stop in the varnish, or do they cut into the wood?

Superficial damage stays on the surface. The scratches are only in the varnish, so the wood underneath is untouched.

Trial two moved the gauge a hair above trial one, and the lab almost logged no change. The note called the gain marginal. A marginal gain borders on which result?

A marginal gain is tiny, barely above nothing. The second trial improved the result only by a hair.

The ticket stack was gone before noon, and the line still wrapped the block. The window sign called demand overwhelming. Overwhelming demand sends the people still waiting home with what in hand?

Overwhelming demand is so great it cannot be met. More people want tickets than the stack can supply, so the rest of the line leaves without one.

The cottage floor fit inside the shadow of the barn beside it, with room to spare. The survey called the cottage footprint modest. Modest describes that footprint, and uncovered shadow remains along which sides of the cottage?

A modest footprint is relatively small. The cottage covers much less ground than the barn.

Salt crusted the sample pan in a white ring far past the recipe line. The lab tag read excessive. The white ring past the recipe line came from a dose that went wrong in what way?

An excessive dose is too much. More salt went into the pan than the recipe called for, and the extra crusted on the rim.

Seedlings on the north bench bent toward the one bright pane and stayed pale. The grower wrote insufficient beside the light reading. Insufficient light is the cause, and the bench is failing to supply which necessity?

Insufficient daylight is not enough for the plants. They lean toward the only bright pane because the bench is too dim.

Boards for the footbridge filled the rack to the cut list, with the last plank matching the final measurement. The lead called the lumber adequate. Can cutting begin with the rack as it stands?

Adequate lumber is enough for the job. The rack holds what the cut list requires, so cutting can begin.

The old coast road vanished under a dune that buried two fence posts and the mile marker. The survey called the dune enormous. Buried posts and a hidden mile marker turn that dune into what kind of block on the mapped route?

An enormous dune is very large. It has covered the road so completely that the route cannot be walked as mapped.

From the water tower, grass ran to the horizon with no fence, tree line, or road in sight. The lookout called the prairie boundless. No fence appears at the horizon, so which edge is missing from that view?

A boundless prairie has no visible boundary. The grass seems to go on without an edge.

The observation deck sign read twelve seats, and nine were already filled. The usher called the remaining places limited. Nine seats are taken, so the deck can still admit what number?

Limited seats are few and restricted in number. Only three places remain of the twelve.

Light from the welding bay washed the hallway so brightly that the exit sign disappeared in the glare. A safety note called the spill intense. Intense brightness has overpowered which sign?

Intense light is very strong. The glare is powerful enough to hide the exit sign.

The cider test strip turned a soft color, well short of the deep mark used for sour batches. The press log called the acidity mild. Soft color, well short of the sour mark, places this batch where on the scale?

Mild acidity is gentle and low in strength. This cider is only slightly sour.

The locker thermometer rested on its lowest numbered line, and the stored vials wore frost. The log called the cold extreme. Frost on the vials and a needle on the lowest line put this locker at which end of the range?

Extreme cold is at the far end of the scale. The locker is as cold as the thermometer goes, cold enough to frost the vials.

The shed lease listed a fee of one dollar a year for a building that rented nearby for hundreds. The clerk called the charge nominal. One dollar a year, beside rents in the hundreds, is a payment of what weight?

A nominal fee is tiny, a charge in name more than in amount. One dollar a year is hardly a real rent.

Silt stood halfway up the canal lock, and barges could not use the lower gate. The harbormaster called the deposit considerable. A considerable deposit commits the harbor to a clearing on the order of what effort?

A considerable deposit is fairly large. Half a lock of silt is a major clearing job.

On a ring of ordinary keys, the one for the map drawer was scarcely longer than a thumbnail. The clerk called it diminutive. Thumbnail length on a ring of ordinary keys makes that one stand out for what reason of scale?

A diminutive key is unusually small. It is tiny beside the normal keys on the same ring.

The rush ferry board listed a fare many times the evening boat for the same crossing. Travelers called the rush price exorbitant and stayed on the dock. Same crossing, later departure: the people on the dock are refusing the rush fare on what grounds?

An exorbitant fare is unreasonably high. The rush boat charges far too much for the same trip, so waiting costs less.

Vines covered the south wall from the foundation to the eaves and continued around the corner. The grounds note called the growth extensive. Foundation to eaves, plus the corner, the vines hide the masonry over what span?

Extensive vines cover a large area. Nearly the whole south wall, and part of the next, is hidden under them.

One speck of dye entered a full tank, and the water looked clear at every depth the lab checked. The report called the dose infinitesimal. An infinitesimal dose leaves a tint of what visibility?

An infinitesimal amount is so small it is nearly zero. One speck in a full tank cannot tint the water enough to notice.

Town records say the square's spring has supplied the troughs every summer on file, with no dry year noted. The ledger calls the spring inexhaustible. Every summer on file still flowing, the ledger is claiming what about the supply?

An inexhaustible spring cannot be used up. The town is saying the water keeps coming no matter how much is drawn.

The loaded barge's rail sat just under the bridge, at the smallest gap the chart allows. The pilot called the clearance minimal. The chart's smallest legal gap leaves the barge able to pass in what manner?

Minimal clearance is the smallest amount possible. The barge can pass, but only with the least space the chart permits.

The clock stopped because a gear in the train had lost a tooth too small to see without a glass. The repair tag called the part minuscule. Minuscule, on the repair tag, fits a gear that can be inspected only under what aid?

A minuscule gear is tiny. The failed part is so small it takes magnification to see the broken tooth.

Crates in the hangar rose in rows to the rafters and still left freight on the apron. The manifest called the shipment prodigious. Freight still on the apron, with the hangar full to the rafters, gives what impression of volume?

A prodigious shipment is remarkably huge. The amount of freight is astonishingly large, filling the hangar and spilling outside.

The island kitchen measured drinking water by the cup, and the cistern would not be refilled until the next boat. The cook called fresh water scarce. Cooking by the cup until the next boat is a kitchen bound by what limit?

Scarce water is in short supply and hard to replace. Every cup has to be saved because more is not available.

The warehouse count touched every bin, including the cracked ones in the back aisle and the empties by the door. The supervisor called the count thorough. Cracked bins and empties alike were on the clipboard, so the count took in which containers?

A thorough count covers all of the parts, carefully. Every bin was checked, full or empty, front or back.

The toll for a barge of machinery was a single coin, a sum the captain paid without looking up from the wheel. She called the toll trifling. One coin, paid without a glance, matters beside that cargo to what extent?

A trifling toll is too small to worry about. Next to the cargo, one coin does not matter.

The work order for the pipe row said to pull every section, including those that still held pressure. The planner called the job wholesale. Pipes that still hold pressure are kept in place, or pulled with the rest?

A wholesale replacement takes the whole set, not a part. Even pipes that still work are coming out.

At dusk the pond surface shivered with minnows, and each dip of a jar came up full. The field note called the pond teeming. A jar dipped at the surface comes up full, which shows life at what density?

A teeming pond is crowded with living things. Minnows are so numerous that a jar cannot be dipped without filling with them.

The print run fell from ten thousand copies to two thousand before the presses started. The publisher called the cut drastic. Ten thousand to two thousand removes what share of the planned run?

A drastic cut is extreme in degree. Going from ten thousand to two thousand is a severe reduction.

The mill contract assigned the mill a few sacks out of the whole barn. The farmer called that share fractional. A few sacks out of the barn leave the mill owed what slice of the crop?

A fractional share is only a small fraction of the whole. The mill gets a few sacks, and the barn keeps nearly all the rest.

The new boiler filled the plant floor from wall to wall, and the doorway had to be widened before it would enter. The crew called the boiler gargantuan. A widened doorway was required because the boiler's bulk created trouble at what opening?

A gargantuan boiler is gigantic. It is so huge that the existing doorway cannot admit it.

The silo clerk lifted a scoop of grain, looked at the full height of the bin, and reached for the scale instead of a tally sheet. She called the kernels incalculable one by one. Why does the tally sheet stay on its hook while the scale is used for an incalculable total?

An incalculable number is too great to count. The kernels are so many that only weight can stand in for a total.

Resin welled across the pine boards in thick amber sheets that stuck the stacking cloth. The shop note called the bleed profuse. Profuse resin has welled thickly enough to cause what sticking?

Profuse resin comes in a lavish amount. The boards are coated thickly, enough to glue the cloth.

A keg labeled for a handful of bolts spilled hardware across the whole bench and onto the floor. The mechanic called it a plethora. The plethora being sorted outruns that label by how wide a margin?

A plethora is an overabundance. Far more bolts arrived than the handful the keg promised.

The latest drill core came up pale, with only a few flecks of ore in a long cylinder of rock. The geologist wrote paucity on the log. Flecks in a long pale cylinder tell the geologist the core holds what amount of ore?

A paucity of ore is a scarcity, a very small amount. The core holds only flecks where a rich sample would be dark with metal.

The new garden beds showed clay and gravel where a deep brown layer should have been. The planter called it a dearth of topsoil and delayed seeding. Seeding waits on the arrival of what missing layer?

A dearth is a serious lack. Without a real layer of topsoil, there is not enough good earth to plant in.

The harbor chart used a dot for every lamp, and the dots merged into clouds along the quay. The cartographer spoke of a myriad of lights. Can a cartographer still separate a myriad of lights into single marks?

A myriad is a vast, indefinite number. There are so many lamps that the dots crowd together instead of staying separate.

Seeds from the wild row blew across the whole plot until every furrow glittered. The grower called them innumerable and gave up a row-by-row tally. Innumerable seeds defeat that tally because finishing it would require what impossibility?

Innumerable seeds are too many to count. They cover every furrow, so a row tally cannot finish.

An anchor beside the dry dock stood taller than the workers and left a deep dent where it had been set down. The yard log called the anchor colossal. Taller than the crew and heavy enough to dent the yard, that anchor fits a ship of what magnitude?

A colossal anchor is gigantic. Only a very large ship would carry metal that huge.

Timbers across the lodge roof were as thick as the shed was wide, while the shed itself kept ordinary rafters. The builder called the lodge beams mammoth. Mammoth fits the lodge timbers, which overmatch those rafters by what margin of thickness?

Mammoth timbers are huge. Each lodge beam is vastly thicker than the ordinary rafters next door.

The polished plate looked flawless until the lab set it under a magnifying lamp and pits appeared across the surface. The report called the pits microscopic. Smooth to the eye, the plate shows its pits only with which instrument?

Microscopic pits are so small they require magnification. The naked eye sees a smooth plate; the lamp reveals the holes.

The coastal survey ran from the north headland to the south jetty and included every cove between. The binder called the survey comprehensive. Is any stretch of that coast missing from the comprehensive survey?

A comprehensive survey includes all or nearly all of the subject. Every stretch from headland to jetty, coves included, is in the binder.

The building inspector noted three broken panes, walked the length of the hall once, and signed the form. The owner called the visit cursory. Three panes and a single walk left what else in the building unrecorded?

A cursory look is slight and not thorough. Only the broken panes were noted, and the rest of the building went unchecked.

The reservoir line dropped a full meter overnight, enough that tomorrow's household allotment had to be rewritten. The water office called the drop significant. Significant, at the water office, is a loss large enough to force what revision?

A significant drop is large enough to matter. A meter of water is too much to ignore, so the next day's shares must change.

A notch the width of a thread sat on the underside of the table edge, invisible from a standing height. The buyer called it insignificant. Insignificant damage leaves ordinary use changed in which practical respect?

An insignificant notch is too small to matter. Hidden on the underside, it does not affect the table.

The night log for the meteor watch filled three pages with separate ticks, and the watcher still ran out of lines. She wrote multitude at the bottom. A multitude names a sky crowded enough to exhaust the log in which respect?

A multitude is a great number. So many meteors were seen that three pages of ticks could not hold them all.

At the end of a long planted row, five pepper plants stood with bare soil on either side. The gardener called that cluster a smattering. A smattering is that little cluster, cut off from the rest of the row by what gaps?

A smattering is a small, scattered amount. Only five plants sit at the end of the row, with empty soil around them.

Wheat in the granary rose to the roof hatches, and the miller turned away extra wagons. His report spoke of a plenitude. Wagons turned away because the hatches were already buried describes a supply at what level of fullness?

Plenitude is fullness, a great abundance. The granary is packed to the hatches, with more wheat arriving than it can take.

The retaining wall bowed toward the road in a curve anyone passing could see without stopping. The engineer called the bulge pronounced. That pronounced bulge can be noticed from what distance?

A pronounced bulge is strongly marked and obvious. The curve stands out clearly even at a glance from the road.

The compass needle left its painted mark by less than a hair, and two readers disagreed on whether it had moved. The log called the shift subtle. A subtle shift stays below what threshold of certainty?

A subtle shift is slight and not obvious. The needle moved so little that careful readers can disagree it moved at all.

Dawn's pencil line on the rain barrel sat well below the noon line, a gap wide enough to see from the porch. The weather book called the rise marked. The marked rise is plain to someone who stays on the porch. That viewer is using what vantage?

A marked rise is clearly noticeable. The noon line is obviously higher than the dawn line, with a wide gap between them.

Gravel for the path arrived one wheelbarrow at a time, each load barely lengthening the walk. The plan called the build incremental. The incremental plan finishes the path only after those small loads have been repeated to what point?

Incremental additions come in small steps. Each wheelbarrow lengthens the path only a little, and the full path grows by those small pieces.

Crews removed three of every four trees in the stand, leaving wide sky where the canopy had been. The forestry note called the thinning radical. Three trees gone out of every four leaves the stand at what fraction of its former count?

A radical reduction is extreme in extent. Three-quarters of the trees are gone, which is a severe loss of the stand.

Mold spotted the cellar sacks on the top shelf, the floor pallets, and the bins by the stair. The stores note called the mold pervasive. Spots on every level of storage mean the mold has reached which of the sacks?

Pervasive mold has spread through every part. The sacks on the top shelf, the floor pallets, and the bins by the stair are all spotted.

Blue shading for floodwater covered farm after farm across the county map, stopping only at the far ridge. The dispatch called the flooding widespread. Farms up to the far ridge are under water across what geographic reach?

Widespread flooding extends over a large area. Water covers farms across the county, up to the far ridge.

Canal posts carried a mile number at every regular interval, on both banks, for the whole length the walkers used. The guide called the markers ubiquitous. Both banks, every interval, the whole walk: where can a walker fail to find a mile post?

Ubiquitous markers are present everywhere along the route. A walker meets a mile post at every interval, so there is no stretch without one.

After the noon clouds, some blocks were dark with rain and many neighboring blocks were dry. The street report called the showers sporadic. Dry blocks beside wet ones reveal showers that fell in what pattern?

Sporadic showers are scattered and irregular. Rain hit isolated blocks and skipped the ones beside them.

Among a slag heap the size of a shed, one glint went to the lab and came back as an uncommon mineral. The assay called the find rare. A rare mineral shows up in that heap with what frequency?

A rare mineral is seldom found. In a whole shed-sized heap, only one such speck appeared.

The archive shelf had a fixed number of slots, and the newest box filled the last empty one. The archivist called the space finite. Another arrival has no slot left on this shelf. Finite space forces the archivist to do what with that box?

Finite space has a definite limit. Every slot is now full, so the next box has nowhere to go on that shelf.

From the ridge, dunes continued until haze swallowed them, with no last dune in sight. A traveler called the field infinite. Haze with no final dune in it is hiding what boundary?

Infinite means without limit or end. From the ridge, no final dune appears, so the field seems endless.

The company brochure said the evaporation pans held limitless brine, with no quota printed anywhere on the page. With the quota gone, the pans are described as having what bound?

Limitless brine is presented as having no restriction. The brochure claims there is no quota and no end to the supply.

The lease map shaded hunting rights only on the north ridge and left the rest of the land blank. The agent called the right circumscribed. Blank land around a shaded north ridge hems the hunting at which line?

A circumscribed right is confined within set limits. Hunting is allowed on the north ridge and nowhere else on the lease.

Grass ran unbroken from the porch steps to the creek, a wide open reach with no hedge across it. The deed called the lawn expansive. Unbroken grass between porch and creek occupies what reach of ground?

An expansive lawn covers a wide extent. The open grass stretches the whole way from the porch to the creek.

The inventory on the rail spur named every warehouse on the line, from the first shed to the last cold store. The auditor called the inventory sweeping. First shed through the last cold store, the list covers warehouses along what portion of the spur?

A sweeping inventory has a wide scope. It takes in every warehouse on the spur.

Canals left the main ditch and still carried water to fields past the second ridge. The district map called the network far-reaching. Past the second ridge, those canals deliver water over what distance from the ditch?

Far-reaching canals extend a long way. Water travels beyond the second ridge, far from the ditch where it started.

Folders in the case drawer stood so thick that the drawer stopped halfway and would not close. The clerk called the files voluminous. A drawer stuck halfway is blocked by folders of what bulk?

Voluminous files are great in volume. There are so many folders that they physically block the drawer.

The sugar tin held one shallow scoop, and the recipe called for a full cup. The baker said only a modicum remained. One scoop against a full cup leaves the recipe able to proceed, or not?

A modicum is a small amount. One shallow scoop is real sugar, but it is far short of the cup the recipe needs.

The assay sheet listed copper as a blank line, and the lab chief wrote that not an iota had appeared. Not an iota of copper is a recovery equal to which quantity?

An iota is a tiny bit, the smallest trace. Not an iota means the sample contained no copper at all.

Gold dust made a faint star in the pan, a few bright grains and no more. The prospector called it a scintilla. Does a scintilla of gold there amount to a payable wash?

A scintilla is a mere trace. Only a few grains of gold sit in the pan, not a payable amount.

The monthly stipend was a few dollars, and the supply bill beside it ran to pages of figures. The clerk called the stipend a pittance. The pittance leaves that bill unmet across what gap?

A pittance is a miserably small sum of money. A few dollars cannot meet a supply bill that fills pages.

After the wall was finished to the plan, a stack of bricks remained on the pallet. The mason called the stack a surplus. The surplus can go to another job because the planned wall already has what?

A surplus is an amount left over beyond what is needed. The wall is complete, so the remaining bricks are extra.

The barn tally sat at eighty bales, twenty under the hundred the winter plan required. The foreman circled a deficit. Twenty bales under the winter plan leave the hay short by what count?

A deficit is the amount by which something falls short. The barn is twenty bales below the hundred it needs.

Peaches piled past the Saturday stand's tables and spoiled in the sun because buyers had already filled their baskets. The grower called it a glut. A glut has outrun the Saturday buyers, and the leftover fruit meets what end?

A glut is an excessive supply. More peaches arrived than buyers would take, so the extra fruit spoiled.

The dye bath came out pale, and the mixing card showed three liters less dye than the formula. The dyer named a shortfall. Three liters missing from the formula left the color weak by removing what volume?

A shortfall is the amount missing from what was required. Three liters of missing dye left the bath too weak to color fully.

Twine for the bean rows was coiled to the length on the work card, with the end meeting the last stake on a trial layout. The lead called the coil sufficient. The coil meets the last stake, so another spool is required, true or false?

Sufficient twine is enough for the need. The coil matches the work card, so another spool is unnecessary.

The soil sheet listed nitrogen well below the line the crop needs, while the other nutrients sat on their marks. The report called the soil deficient. The deficient sheet is flagging a shortage of which element?

Deficient soil lacks enough of something required. Nitrogen is below the level the crop needs, even though the other nutrients are on their marks.

The library fine grew by the same amount for each overdue day, matching the posted daily rate exactly. The notice called the fine commensurate with the delay. The same daily rate, added once per late day, sizes the charge by what rule?

A commensurate fine matches in degree. Each overdue day adds the same posted amount, so the charge stays in proportion to the time.

One shutter took most of the paint can, and the other three shutters had to share the little that remained. The painter called that use disproportionate. The disproportionate split favors which of the four shutters?

A disproportionate share is out of proportion. One shutter received far more paint than an equal share of the four.

The front wagon sat low on its springs, while the rear wagon rode high with a light load. The driver said the preponderance of the weight was in front. A high-riding rear wagon means the greater share of the weight sits in which one?

A preponderance is the larger part. Most of the weight is in the front wagon, and the rear carries much less.

The first net used every meter on the spool, and the core was left bare. The net-maker said the entirety of the thread was gone. A bare spool after the first net means thread for a second net remains in what amount?

The entirety is the whole of something. Every meter went into the first net, so nothing remains.

The signboard had been scraped, and only a few flecks of the old red clung in the letter grooves. The painter called those flecks a vestige. Flecks in the letter grooves are the original color surviving as what remainder?

A vestige is a small remnant of something that used to be greater. Almost all the paint is gone; only flecks remain in the grooves.

The wharf invoice listed storage in figures so large the clerk read them twice and checked the column headings. She called the fees astronomical. Astronomical fees provoke that double take because the figures have climbed to what extreme?

Astronomical fees are enormously large. The storage charges are so high they look unreal at first reading.

Dust filmed the greenhouse glass until the noon sun cast a gray shade on the benches. The grower called the layer appreciable. Gray noon shade on the benches means the plants under that dust receive what sunlight?

An appreciable layer is large enough to notice and to matter. The dust is thick enough to gray the sunlight, so the plants get less.

The tank gauge fell overnight, yet no drip showed, no sound carried, and the floor stayed dry. The mechanic called the leak imperceptible. The imperceptible leak announced itself only as a fallen gauge. Sight and hearing missed it, so the loss showed up on what reading?

An imperceptible leak is too slight to be sensed. Water left so slowly that sight, hearing, and the dry floor gave no sign, even while the gauge dropped.

Rows of lamps burned across a hall with no one in it, far past the two fixtures the night plan allowed. The supervisor called the number inordinate. Lamps past the two the plan allowed are beyond a reasonable count by what measure?

An inordinate number exceeds reasonable limits. Far more lamps are on than the two the plan allows for an empty hall.

The bridge sign posted a toll so high that truck drivers turned off and took the long valley road. Dispatch called the toll prohibitive. A prohibitive toll turns them away with what effect?

A prohibitive toll is so high it prevents use. Drivers would rather take the longer road than pay the bridge.

Jars filled every cellar shelf to the lip, and new preserves had to wait on the stairs. The inventory called the cellar replete. Jars waiting on the stairs, with every shelf full to the lip, show the cellar in what state?

A replete cellar is filled abundantly. The shelves are packed to the lip, with no room for another jar.

The fuel gauge sat on empty, and the pump handle drew only air. The log called the tank devoid of fuel. Air in the hose is all the pump can bring up because the tank holds what fuel?

A tank devoid of fuel is completely without it. The pump has nothing to draw but air.

Weeds stood in the gaps along the whole flagstone walk, from the gate to the steps, in nearly every joint. The groundskeeper called them rife. Joint after joint, from the gate to the steps, the weeds occur across the walk with what commonness?

Rife weeds are abundant and widespread. They occupy nearly every joint from the gate to the steps.