Synonyms

Vengeful means seeking to harm someone in return for a perceived injury, which aligns perfectly with merciless showing no mercy or pity. Mercy and grace are antonyms, making them incorrect choices.

Puzzle as a verb means to confuse or perplex someone. When you puzzle someone, you create confusion or bewilderment. Options like sum, true, and good do not relate to the meaning of puzzle.

Crush can mean to completely destroy or demolish something with force. While rescue means to save, and rare means uncommon, crush is the only option that conveys the destructive meaning of destroy.

Heresy refers to a belief or opinion contrary to orthodox religious doctrine, and heterodoxy specifically means deviation from accepted beliefs or standards. Pastoral relates to clergy, while uncommon is too vague.

Uncivil means impolite, discourteous, or lacking proper manners, which is synonymous with rude. Countrified means rural, scope refers to range, and dull means lacking brightness or interest.

Even as an adjective means smooth and level, without irregularities. This directly corresponds to smooth in describing surfaces or textures. Craggy means rough and uneven, which is an antonym.

Doing something without pay such as volunteering is considered honorary.

 Incredible is synonymous with unbelievable. 

Rumble describes a low, continuous, deep sound, like distant guns firing. The 'rumble of distant guns' refers to the ongoing thunderous noise they create. Option A 'sound' is the correct synonym as rumble is a type of sound. Options B (smell), C (music), and D (voice) are incorrect - rumble is not a smell, music is too structured, and voice is too specific to human vocal cords.

A scrooge is a person who is mean and stingy, especially with money, making 'miser' the correct synonym. 'Champion' is the opposite, while 'man' and 'person' are too generic.

Flabbergasted means completely astonished or shocked, making 'shocked' the correct synonym. The context of someone sitting there stunned reinforces this meaning of overwhelming surprise.

Thunderstruck means extremely surprised or astonished, as if struck by thunder. 'Surprised' captures this meaning, though it's a milder term. 'Paralyzed' is incorrect - being thunderstruck is emotional, not physical.

Extravagant means spending more money than is necessary or reasonable, often wastefully. 'Spending unnecessarily' directly captures this meaning of excessive or wasteful expenditure.

Flamboyant means tending to attract attention because of their showiness, often through bright colors or striking appearance. 'Bright' captures the visual boldness and showiness that flamboyant describes.

Orthodox means following traditional or widely accepted beliefs, methods, or practices. 'Traditional' is the correct synonym, while 'modern' and 'latest' are antonyms. 'Sensible' doesn't capture the traditional aspect.