THE LETTER THIEF I
GAMES/World of Puzzles
August, 2020
Darren Nattinger and S. Matt Read

A thief has run off with most of the letters in the words below. However, his hallmark is to leave enough letters behind to form a synonym for the original word. Can you recover the lost letters and restore the words to their former glory?

For example, the clue "_H_ _ _EN" would produce CHICKEN.

1. FRA _ IL _
2. _ VAC _ ATE
3. T _ I _C_ 
4. _ E _ _ RE
5. _ ST _ UN _
6. SP _ OT _ _
7. ALLO _ _ T _
8. _ RA _ TIO _
9. CHAR _ _ M _
10. A _ NO _ MAL _ _ Y

Answers:

1. FRAGILE
2. EVACUATE
3. TWITCH
4. BEFORE
5. ASTOUND
6. SPLOTCH
7. ALLOCATE
8. FRACTION
9. CHARISMA
10. ABNORMALITY