The sculptor's incisive remarks identified the weakness in the exhibition plan before anyone noticed the missing pedestal. (incisive: perceptive, penetrating, sharp) A dogmatic committee member insisted that an empty platform expressed more artistic confidence than an ordinary finished sculpture. (dogmatic: rigid, opinionated, doctrinaire) The sculptor remained reticent until the member suggested that the committee charge visitors extra to imagine the object themselves. (reticent: reserved, restrained, reluctant to speak) She then offered a dispassionate account of what had been promised and what was actually ready. (dispassionate: objective, impartial, unemotional)
Her introspective pause was not agreement, although the committee had initially mistaken silence for consent. (introspective: self-examining, inward-looking, reflective) An intractable argument followed about whether admitting a delay would damage the exhibition's reputation. (intractable: stubborn, unmanageable, unyielding) The member became indignant when asked to carry the real pedestal out of the storeroom. (indignant: outraged, offended, angry at perceived unfairness) His inveterate preference for discussion over physical work had finally become impossible to overlook. (inveterate: habitual, ingrained, long-established)
A young assistant could refute the claim that the pedestal was missing by opening the correct cupboard. (refute: disprove, rebut, show to be false) The sculptor chose to reiterate the original task rather than demand an apology from everyone who had misunderstood it. (reiterate: repeat, restate, say again) Their reciprocal willingness to help made the remaining work less difficult than the argument had suggested. (reciprocal: mutual, shared, exchanged) The committee's rigorous final check included the dimensions of the doorway, which no speech had previously considered. (rigorous: thorough, exacting, demanding)
The committee's reverence for famous sculptors had become an excuse for describing the local sculptor's practical questions as inconvenient details. (reverence: respect, veneration, esteem) The assistant offered an incisive distinction: admiration for art did not remove the need to measure the platform supporting it. (incisive: penetrating, perceptive, sharp) An insular assumption that only committee members could offer useful ideas weakened when the caretaker found the missing trolley. (insular: inward-looking, narrow-minded, provincial) His rudimentary knowledge of the building turned out to be precisely what the immediate task required. (rudimentary: basic, elementary, simple)
The sculptor refused to relinquish responsibility for her work, but she was willing to change a detail that made it difficult to display. (relinquish: give up, surrender, abandon) That flexibility was not the same thing as accepting every suggestion made by a person with a louder voice. (flexibility: adaptability, willingness to adjust, responsiveness) A reciprocal explanation of their concerns allowed the crew to preserve the sculpture while protecting the doorway and the people carrying it. (reciprocal: mutual, shared, exchanged) The committee member's unwarranted prediction of disaster became less persuasive once the dimensions and route were written down. (unwarranted: unjustified, uncalled-for, unsupported)
The assistant found the work exacting, yet easier to manage than an argument whose practical purpose kept changing. (exacting: demanding, rigorous, requiring precision) A definitive check of the measurements gave them permission to begin rather than another reason to postpone the same task. (definitive: decisive, conclusive, settling)
A rudimentary ramp solved the problem of moving the heavy platform across the threshold. (rudimentary: basic, elementary, simple) The assistant's exemplary patience earned more appreciation than the member's account of his own brilliant supervision. (exemplary: admirable, commendable, praiseworthy) The exhibition opened with a robust display that visitors could examine without being told that disappointment was an advanced artistic response. (robust: strong, sturdy, sound) The sculptor accepted the inevitable differences in taste and asked only that everyone describe what they actually saw. (inevitable: unavoidable, certain, inescapable)