opine, adjudicate, stroke, stoke

opine:
to express an opinion:
Power grows from the barrel of a gun, opined Mao.
Ernest Rutherford opined that his work on radioactive substances would be of little or no practical use.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------adjudicate
to act as judge in a competition or argument, or to makea formal decision about something:
He was asked to adjudicate on the dispute.
He was called in to adjudicate a local land dispute.
The game was adjudicated a win for Black.
(adjudicate sb bankrupt)to legally and officially state that a person, company, or organization cannot pay its debts:
The operator of the steel plant was adjudicated bankrupt by the regional court on July 7.---------------------------------------------------------------------stroke

to move your hand or an object gently over something,usually repeatedly:
Asked another question, she stroked her chin and shut her eyes before answering.

a movement of a pen or pencil when writing, or by a brush when painting, or the line or mark made by such a movementWith a stroke of his pen, the governor signed the bill into lawa sudden change in the blood supply to a part of the brain, which can result in a loss of some mental or physical abilities, or death:He suffered a stroke and died two days later.
a particular type of repeated movement used in a method of swimming:[U] He swims the breast stroke competitively, but for his ads he did the butterfly stroke.
 [C] an unexpected but important event or experience:The bid to take over the company was seen as a bold stroke.To get a job in those years was an incredible stroke of luck.By a stroke of luck, someone else was walking along the trail and heard my shouts for help.

• [C] an exact time, or a sound or series of sounds that show this time:
• 
  
• The fireworks will start at the stroke of 10

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stoke

to add fuel to a large fire and move the fuel around witha stick so that it burns well and produces a lot of heat:
Once the fire had been stoked up, the room began toget warm.
Returning to the camp, he stoked the fire.
fig. The flag  is a symbol used to stoke the flames of (= increase) national pride.
to encourage bad ideas or feelings in a lot of people:
He's been accused of stoking up racial hatred in the region.
Rumors of an emergency meeting of the finance committeestoked the atmosphere of crisis.
Worries about the company's future revenue growth were stoked by a drop in personal computer sales.