Can you help me to study vocabrary?:)

Hey guys!:D
I'm studying with a vocabulary book now and trying to be able to use the words from it. in this book. But However, I don't know whether if my usage and grammar is [1] correct or not :( 

So I would be very happy if some of you guys [2] could teach me or correct the sentences I have written made...:)

parallel: The performance of the athelete is paralleled to the gold medalist.

equivalent: In the bible it is said that to hate a person in my heart is equivalent to killing him.

compatible: she said she wanted to divorce from him because they were incompatible.

liable: I was liable to catch a cold when I was young still small.

inherent: difficulties are inherent in (you can also use "to" instead of "in") human life.

inborn: I think your level or effort is much more important that how much you make efforts than how great your inborn ability is.

stiff: I heard that a white man usually doesn't have any stiff neck usually, is that right? Well, I have and almost permanently stiff neck thanks to wrestling... :)

(haha seriously. And is it ok to say "a white man"?)
To be polite, it's safer to stick to "Western man" or "anglo-saxon" or "caucasian". I personally don't mind "white man" or even "gaijin", but it can bother some people. 

tense: I tensed my nerves to listen to the sound.
This is a bit of a strange use of the verb "tense". Here's an example: "I tensed my stomach muscles as I saw the kick coming, hoping to avoid injury." 

grave: Do you say "grave illness"?? Is it natural?
Yes, it's natural. 

solemn: She talked to me in a solemn way.

odious: How odious the weather is today! is.
"odius" is somewhat like 憎らしい and it has a little bit of a tone of 臭い. You wouldn't normally use it to describe the weather. E.g. "I find his rude behaviour to be completely odious."

dismal: How do you use "dismal outlook"??
"Based on the weather today, I have a dismal outlook on the chances of my brother's cricket game going ahead today." 

aggressive: He was aggressive against me and opposed to my suggestion.
Again, this is a slightly peculiar way to use "aggressive". Aggression from a person to a person is normally thought of as violent (激しい). Here are two different examples:

Sarah broke up with her boyfriend because he was too aggressive. (Aggressive here would mean 激しい)

XYZ Company have a very aggressive business plan in which they try to force out all other businesses.

Thank you! xD

Comments:

[1] - "My usage and grammar" becomes one 'thing' here, so you need to use the singular "is" and not "are". More confusing English rules!

[2] - In some contexts, "guys" means only men. In Australia, "guys" is a bit like "彼等" in that it can refer to just men or a group containing men and women, but in the UK it's normally a bit strange to use "guys" for women. When I first came to England, one of my jobs was to coach a girls soccer team. They gave me a very strange look when I said "Come on guys, focus!" ;)