Swain - Week 11 & 12

Question 1

Sagacious

Answer 1

(adjective): wise, being sound in judgement, insightful;

EXAMPLE: A good leader will surround herself with advisors who are sagacious and can guide her to do what is honorable and just.

Question 2

Salubrious

Answer 2

(adjective): healthy, promoting good health;

EXAMPLE: While the brand has presented itself as being salubrious, research has shown that their foods are filled with various ingredients that are actually terrible for your health.

Question 3

Satirical

Answer 3

(adjective): adjective form for satire which means exposing human folly to ridicule;

EXAMPLE: The movie presented a satirical look at the current state of affairs in our country, which was funny but sad at the same

Question 4

Sophist

Answer 4

(noun); a person who presents himself/herself as wise, but presents false arguments. Sophist has the accent on the first syllable: “SAW fist.” It comes from the Greek word sophizesthai, meaning “to become wise or learned, deceive.” In fact, deceit was just part of the job for the ancient Greek philosophers called Sophists. The cleverness of the Sophists prevented students from seeing that the Sophists’ arguments didn’t reach logical conclusions — and the Sophists kept their paying students coming back for more.

EXAMPLE: She is a modern day sophist; she gives these long speeches convincing everyone that she knows it all, when actually she has no idea of what she is talking about.

Question 5

Spurious

Answer 5

(adjective): false, fake;

EXAMPLE: One way that dictators gain power is by spewing off spurious claims as true and factual.

Question 6

Tactful

Answer 6

(adjective): Having a sense of what is considerate when dealing with others;

EXAMPLE: She is quite tactful and always knows what to say in an uncomfortable situation.

Question 7

Tantamount

Answer 7

(adjective): equivalent;

EXAMPLE: They are tantamount in nearly every category, so it will be hard to choose a winner.

Question 8

Tawdry

Answer 8

(adjective): tastelessly showy, flashy;

EXAMPLE: His tawdry display of his wealth is insensitive to those who are now in financial ruin because of him

Question 9

Tenable

Answer 9

(adjective): based on sound reasoning and evidence; reasonable, sensible;

EXAMPLE: Congress has the difficult job of passing laws that are tenable but also pleasing to everyone, which is impossible.

Question 10

Tenuous

Answer 10

(adjective): lacking substance or significance;

EXAMPLE: He had a difficult time with the paper because his thesis was tenuous and did not warrant a thoughtful discussion.