deepen
deepen
meeker
kerfed
“trying” in post #10907 was not a legal play, as it changed three letters. But, it’s been a while.
Playing off “kerfed”:
darker
Dang, I played off it; I should’a caught it.
reared
dreary
ornery
neuron
neuter
neural
laurel
really
larval
valley
valued
dually
allude
duller
mulled