S Flashcards

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1
Q

sagacious

A

(adjective) discerning, wise.

Only a leader as sagacious as Nelson Mandela could have united South Africa so successfully and peacefully.

sagacity (noun)

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2
Q

salvage

A

(verb) to save from wreck or ruin.

After the hurricane destroyed her home, she was able to salvage only a few of her belongings.

salvage (noun)
salvageable (adjective)

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3
Q

sanctimonious

A

(adjective) showing false or excessive piety.

The sanctimonious prayers of the TV preacher were interspersed with requests that the viewers send him money.

sanctimony (noun)

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4
Q

scapegoat

A

(noun) someone who bears the blame for others’ acts; someone hated for no apparent reason.

Although Buckner’s error was only one reason the Red Sox lost, many fans made him the scapegoat, booing him mercilessly.

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5
Q

scrupulous

A

(adjective) acting with extreme care; painstaking.

Disney theme parks are famous for their scrupulous attention to small details.

scruple (noun)

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6
Q

scrutinize

A

(verb) to study closely.

The lawyer scrutinized the contract, searching for any sentence that could pose a risk for her client.

scrutiny (noun)

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7
Q

secrete

A

(verb) to emit; to hide.

Glands in the mouth secrete saliva, a liquid that helps in digestion. The jewel thieves secreted the necklace in a tin box buried underground.

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8
Q

sedentary

A

(adjective) requiring much sitting.

When Officer Samson was given a desk job, she had trouble getting used to sedentary work after years on the street.

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9
Q

sequential

A

(adjective) arranged in an order or series.

The courses for the chemistry major are sequential; you must take them in order, since each course builds on the previous ones.

sequence (noun)

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10
Q

serendipity

A

(noun) the act of lucky, accidental discoveries.

Great inventions sometimes come about through deliberate research and hard work, sometimes through pure serendipity.

serendipitous (adjective)

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11
Q

servile

A

(adjective) like a slave or servant; submissive.

The tycoon demanded that his underlings behave in a servile manner, agreeing quickly with everything he said.

servility (noun)

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12
Q

simulated

A

(adjective) imitating something else; artificial.

High- quality simulated gems must be examined under a magnifying glass to be distinguished from real ones.

simulate (verb)
simulation (noun)

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13
Q

solace

A

(verb) to comfort or console.

There was little the rabbi could say to solace the husband after his wife’s death.

solace (noun)

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14
Q

spontaneous

A

(adjective) happening without plan.

When the news of Kennedy’s assassination broke, people everywhere gathered in a spontaneous effort to share their shock and grief.

spontaneity (noun)

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15
Q

spurious

A

(adjective) false, fake.

The so-called Piltdown Man, supposed to be the fossil of a primitive human, turned out to be spurious, although who created the hoax is still uncertain.

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16
Q

squander

A

(verb) to use up carelessly, to waste.

Those who had made donations to the charity were outraged to learn that its director had squandered millions on fancy dinners and first-class travel.

17
Q

stagnate

A

(verb) to become stale through lack of movement or change.

Having had no contact with the outside world for generations, Japan’s culture gradually stagnated.

stagnant (adjective)
stagnation (noun)

18
Q

staid

A

(adjective) sedate, serious, and grave.

This college is definitely not a “party school”; the students all work hard, and the campus has a reputation for being staid.

19
Q

stimulus

A

(noun) something that excites a response or provokes an action.

The arrival of merchants and missionaries from the West provided a stimulus for change in Japanese society.

stimulate (verb)

20
Q

stoic

A

(adjective) showing little feeling, even in response to pain or sorrow.

A soldier must respond to the death of his comrades in stoic fashion, since the fighting will not stop for his grief.

stoicism (noun)

21
Q

strenuous

A

(adjective) requiring energy and strength.

Hiking in the foothills of the Rockies is fairly easy, but climbing the higher peaks can be strenuous.

22
Q

submissive

A

(adjective) accepting the will of others; humble, compliant.

At the end of Ibsen’s play A Doll’s House, Nora leaves her husband and abandons the role of submissive housewife.

23
Q

substantiate

A

(verb) verified or supported by evidence.

The charge that Nixon had helped to cover up crimes was substantiated by his comments about it on a series of audio tapes.

substantiated (adjective)
substantiation (noun)

24
Q

sully

A

(verb) to soil, stain, or defile.

Nixon’s misdeeds as president did much to sully the reputation of the American government.

25
Q

superficial

A

(adjective) on the surface only; without depth or substance.

Her wound was superficial and required only a light bandage. His superficial attractiveness hides the fact that his personality is lifeless and his mind is dull.

superficiality (noun)

26
Q

superfluous

A

(adjective) more than is needed, excessive.

Once you’ve won the debate, don’t keep talking; superfluous arguments will only bore and annoy the audience.

27
Q

suppress

A

(verb) to put down or restrain.

As soon as the unrest began, thousands of helmeted police were sent into the streets to suppress the riots.

suppression (noun)

28
Q

surfeit

A

(noun) an excess.

Most American families have a surfeit of food and drink on Thanksgiving Day.

surfeit (verb)

29
Q

surreptitious

A

(adjective) done in secret.

Because Iraq avoided weapons inspections, many believed it had a surreptitious weapons development program.

30
Q

surrogate

A

(noun) a substitute.

When the congressman died in office, his wife was named to serve the rest of his term as a surrogate.

surrogate (adjective)

31
Q

sustain

A

(verb) to keep up, to continue; to support.

Because of fatigue, he was unable to sustain the effort needed to finish the marathon.