Word box: alias amble burly distort dogged dumbfounded extinct fossil grit inevitable ingrained meteoric parody prevail rend replenish rummage skimp sleuth vandalism

2.We were nothing less than ____ when we saw the immense damage that the hurricane had some in so brief a time
dumbfounded

4.Whenever our team needs a few yards to make a first down we call on our big ____ fullback to crash through the line
burly

7.We saw a bolt of lightning ___ a huge limb from the mighty oak tree
rend

8.The old con artist had used so many ____ over the course of his criminal career that he sometimes forgot his real name
alias?

Right.

Thank you

You're welcome.

To answer the question:

8. The old con artist had used so many ____ over the course of his criminal career that he sometimes forgot his real name.

The word that fits in the blank is "alias." An alias is a false or alternative name used by a person, especially a criminal, to conceal their identity. In this case, the con artist used various aliases throughout his criminal career.

To arrive at this answer:

1. Read the sentence and identify the context. It mentions a con artist using different names over their criminal career.
2. Look at the options provided - "amble," "burly," "distort," "dogged," "dumbfounded," "extinct," "fossil," "grit," "inevitable," "ingrained," "meteoric," "parody," "prevail," "rend," "replenish," "rummage," "skimp," "sleuth," and "vandalism."
3. Determine the meanings of the options. An alias is a false name, and based on the context, it fits the scenario of a con artist using multiple names.
4. Connect the meaning of the word "alias" to the context of the sentence. The phrase "used so many ____ over the course of his criminal career" refers to the con artist using different names or aliases.
5. Select "alias" as the correct word choice to fill in the blank.

Thus, the answer is "alias."