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GRE Vocabulary > Word List 47 > Flashcards

Word List 47 Flashcards

1
Q

sanatorium

A

an establishment that provides therapy combined with a regimen for treatment or rehabilitation
an establishment for the treatment of the chronically ill

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2
Q

sangfroid

A

self-possession or imperturbability especially under strain

e.g. The professional gambler seemed to take both his wins and his losses with remarkable sangfroid.

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3
Q

sapling

A

a young tree

youth

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4
Q

sardonic

A

disdainfully or skeptically humorous; derisively mocking

e.g. a sardonic little jab that made her visitor quiet and subdued for the rest of the night

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5
Q

sate

A 
to cloy with overabundance; glut 
to appease (as a thirst) by indulging to the full

e.g. sate the appetite of vampire-hungry fans

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6
Q

scabrous

A

difficult, knotty
rough to touch
dealing with suggestive, indecent, or scandalous themes; salacious; also, squalid

e.g. a scabrous problem
scabrous paint/skin
a movie with scabrous humor

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7
Q

scad

A

(informal) a great number or quantity

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8
Q

paucity

A

smallness of number; fewness
smallness of quantity; dearth

e.g. a paucity of useful answers to the problem of traffic congestion at rush hour

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9
Q

scamper

A

to run nimbly and usually playfully about

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10
Q

scarp

A

a line of cliffs produced by faulting or erosion

a low steep slope along a beach caused by wave erosion

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11
Q

scintillate

A

to emit sparks; spark
to throw off as a spark or as sparkling flashes

e.g. star scintillating in the sky
scintillate witticisms

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12
Q

scission

A

a division or split in a group or union; schism

e.g. fears that the scission of the labor union will compromise the workers’ bargaining power

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13
Q

scour

A

to rub or scrub
to clean by purging; purge
to move about quickly especially in search

e.g. They scoured the grounds for the missing keys.

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14
Q

screed

A

a lengthy discourse

e.g. In her screed against the recording industry, she blamed her producer for ruining her career.

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15
Q

scrumptious

A

delightful, excellent; especially, delicious

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16
Q

scud

A

to move or run swiftly especially as if driven forward
rush
loose vapory clouds driven swiftly by the wind
a slight sudden shower
a gust of wind

e.g. clouds scudding across the sky
A cold scud sent leaves skittering down from the trees.

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17
Q

scutter

A

scurry, scamper

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18
Q

seafaring

A

the use of the sea for travel or transportation

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19
Q

seclude

A

to remove or separate from intercourse or outside influence; isolate
shut off, screen

e.g. seclude themselves from the turmoil of secular affairs

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20
Q

sedition

A

incitement of resistance to or insurrection against lawful authority

e.g. The leaders of the group have been arrested and charged with sedition.

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21
Q

seditious

A
  • sedition

e. g. Several dissidents were jailed for leading protests that the government branded as seditious.

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22
Q

senile

A

of, relating to, exhibiting, or characteristic of old age; especially, exhibiting a loss of cognitive abilities associated with old age

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23
Q

sententious

A

given to or abounding in aphoristic expression
given to or abounding in excessive moralizing
terse, aphoristic, or moralistic in expression; pithy, epigrammatic

e.g. a smug and sententious writer
a sententious crank who has written countless letters to the editor about the decline in family values

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24
Q

sequacious

A

intellectually servile; (of a person) lacking independence or originality of thought

e.g. The human race is gregarious and sequacious, rather than individual and adventurous.

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25
Q

sequela

A

an aftereffect of a disease, condition, or injury

a secondary result

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26
Q

serendipity

A

the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for; also, an instance of this

e.g. They found each other by pure serendipity.

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27
Q

sermonize

A

to compose or deliver a sermon
to speak didactically or dogmatically

e.g. a teacher who can talk to her students about serious subjects without sermonizing

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28
Q

shanty

A

a small crudely built dwelling or shelter usually of wood

29
Q

shawl

A

a square or oblong usually fabric garment or wrapper used especially as a covering for the head or shoulders

30
Q

sheaf

A

a quantity of stalks and ears of a cereal grass or sometimes other plant material bound together
a large amount or number

e.g. contends that casino gambling would generate a sheaf of social problems for the state

31
Q

sheen

A

a bright or shining condition; brightness

e.g. polished the metal until it had an even sheen

32
Q

shibboleth

A

a word or saying used by adherents of a party, sect, or belief and usually regarded by others as empty of real meaning
a widely held belief; also, truism, platitude
a custom or usage regarded as distinct of a group

e.g. She repeated the old shibboleth that time heals all wounds.
Accent was a shibboleth of social class.

33
Q

shuffle

A

to work into or out of trickily
to act or speak in a shifty or evasive manner

e.g. shuffle out of the difficulty

34
Q

sidesplitting

A

extremely funny

35
Q

sidle

A

to go or move with one side foremost especially in a furtive advance
to cause to move or turn sideways

e.g. sidle up to him and slip him a note
sidle through the narrow opening

36
Q

simian

A

of, relating to, or resembling monkeys or apes

monkey, ape

37
Q

skittish

A

lively or frisky in action; capricious
easily frightened; restive
coy, bashful; also, wary

e.g. a skittish horse
skittish about taking on such a large mortgage

38
Q

skulduggery

A

underhanded or unscrupulous behavior; also, a devious device or trick

e.g. The company’s apparently healthy bottom line was merely an illusion, the result of years of accounting skulduggery.

39
Q

slapdash

A

haphazard, slipshod

e.g. The investigation of the charges against the mayor was slapdash and not very thorough.

40
Q

slaver

A

drool, slobber
to fawn

e.g. a dog slavering over a bone
suburbanites slavering over drop-dead models

41
Q

sleazy

A

lacking firmness of texture; flimsy
marked by low character or quality
squalid, dilapidated

e.g. a dancer in a sleazy outfit
a sleazy lothario who is always on the make

42
Q

sleight

A

deceitful craftiness; also, stratagem
dexterity, skill

e.g. employ some sophisticated sleight to con that wary couple out of their money
a brilliant new theory that pays tribute to his remarkable sleight of mind

43
Q

slobber

A

drool
to indulge the feelings effusively and without restraint
driveling, sloppy, or incoherent utterance

e.g. The baby just slobbered on the blanket.

44
Q

sloven

A

one habitually negligent of neatness or cleanliness especially in personal appearance

45
Q

slew

A

to turn about a fixed point
to cause to skid; veer

e.g. slew a car around a turn

46
Q

slump

A

to fall or sink suddenly
also

e.g. slumping sales
The economy has been in a slump since last year.

47
Q

snappish

A

given to curt irritable speech
arising from annoyance or irascibility
inclined to bite

e.g. a snappish remark/dog

48
Q

snappy

A

quickly made or done
marked by vigor or liveliness
briskly cold
stylish, smart

e.g. a snappy decision
snappy dialogue / a snappy dresser

49
Q

sojourn

A

a temporary stay

e.g. The family enjoyed a two-week sojourn in the mountains.

50
Q

somnolent

A

sleep-inducing
inclined to or heavy with sleep; drowsy
sluggish

e.g. a somnolent sermon
somnolent rivers

51
Q

souse

A 
pickle 
to plunge in liquid; immerse 
to make drunk 
 something pickled
wetting 
a habitual drunkard; also, a drinking spree; binge
52
Q

spangle

A

small glittering object or particle
to set or sprinkle with or as if with spangles
to glitter as if covered with spangled; sparkle

53
Q

spasmodic

A

relating to or resembling a spasm especially in sudden violence
acting or proceeding fitfully; intermittent

e.g. a spasmodic jerk
spasmodic attempts to lose weight

54
Q

spoor

A

a track by which the progress of someone or something may be followed

55
Q

spunk

A

spirit, courage, and determination

e.g. had the spunk to overcome a severe physical disability

56
Q

spurn

A

to tread sharply or heavily upon; trample
to reject with disdain or contempt; scorn

e.g. Fiercely independent, the elderly couple spurned all offers of financial help.

57
Q

star-crossed

A

not favored by the stars; ill-fated

58
Q

stoop

A

to bend down or over
yield, submit
to descend from a superior rank, dignity, or status
debase, degrade

e.g. She stooped down to hug the child.
stooped to lying

59
Q

stouthearted

A

courageous

stubborn

60
Q

straggle

A

to move along slowly, typically in a small irregular group, so as to remain some distance behind the person or people in front
to grow, spread, or be laid out in an irregular, untidy way; trail
an untidy or irregularly arranged mass or group of something

e.g. The trees straggle over the countryside.
a straggle of cottages

61
Q

stupendous

A

causing astonishment or wonder; awesome, marvelous
of amazing size or greatness; tremendous

e.g. a person with stupendous wealth
the stupendous engineering feats achieved by the ancient Romans

62
Q

subscribe

A

sign
to pledge (a gift or contribution)
to assent to; support
to feel favorably disposed

e.g. unwilling to subscribe to the agreement
subscribe a large sum to the flood relief fund
I subscribe to your sentiments.

63
Q

subsist

A

to have existence
persist, continue
to hold true

e.g. The author’s right to royalties shall subsist for the term of the copyright.

64
Q

substratum

A

an underlying support; foundation

e.g. drilled into the bedrock substratum

65
Q

subvention

A

the provision of assistance or financial support

e.g. The committee receives an annual subvention from the foundation to run the museum.

66
Q

sully

A

to make soiled or tarnished; defile

e.g. sully a reputation

67
Q

sundry

A

miscellaneous, various
(all and sundry: everybody)

e.g. draw design inspirations from sundry cultures

68
Q

superannuated

A

outmoded, old-fashioned
older than the typical member of a specified group

e.g. a periodical that insists on using largely superannuated terms like “editress” and “aviatrix”

GRE Vocabulary (50 decks)

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