S

Question 1

saccharine

(adj.)

Answer 1

sickeningly sweet

(Tom’s saccharine manner, although intended to make him popular, actually repelled his classmates.)

Question 2

sacrosanct

(adj.)

Answer 2

holy, something that should not be criticized

(In the United States, the Constitution is often thought of as a sacrosanct document.)

Question 3

sagacity

(n.)

Answer 3

shrewdness, soundness of perspective

(With remarkable sagacity, the wise old man predicted and thwarted his children’s plan to ship him off to a nursing home.)

Question 4

salient

(adj.)

Answer 4

significant, conspicuous

(One of the salient differences between Alison and Nancy is that Alison is a foot taller.)

Question 5

salutation

(n.)

Answer 5

a greeting

(Andrew regularly began letters with the bizarre salutation “Ahoy ahoy.”)

Question 6

salve

(n.)

Answer 6

a soothing balm

(After Tony applied a salve to his brilliant red sunburn, he soon felt a little better.)

Question 7

sanctimonious

(adj.)

Answer 7

giving a hypocritical appearance of piety

(The sanctimonious Bertrand delivered stern lectures on the Ten Commandments to anyone who would listen, but thought nothing of stealing cars to make some cash on the side.)

Question 8

sanguine

(adj.)

Answer 8

optimistic, cheery

(Polly reacted to any bad news with a sanguine smile and the chirpy cry, “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade!”)

Question 9

satiate

(v.)

Answer 9

to satisfy excessively

(Satiated after eating far too much turkey and stuffing, Liza lay on the couch watching football and suffering from stomach pains.)

Question 10

scathing

(adj.)

Answer 10

sharp, critical, hurtful

(Two hours after breaking up with Russell, Suzanne thought of the perfect scathing retort to his accusations.)

Question 11

scintillating

(adj.)

Answer 11

sparkling

(The ice skater’s scintillating rhinestone costume nearly blinded the judges.)

Question 12

scrupulous

(adj.)

Answer 12

painstaking, careful

(With scrupulous care, Sam cut a snowflake out of white paper.)

Question 13

scurrilous

(adj.)

Answer 13

vulgar, coarse

(When Bruno heard the scurrilous accusation being made about him, he could not believe it because he always tried to be nice to everyone.)

Question 14

sedentary

(adj.)

Answer 14

sitting, settled

(The sedentary cat did little but loll in the sun.)

Question 15

semaphore

(n.)

Answer 15

a visual signal

(Anne and Diana communicated with a semaphore
involving candles and window shades.)

Question 16

seminal

(adj.)

Answer 16

original, important, creating a field

(Stephen Greenblatt’s essays on Shakespeare proved to be seminal, because they initiated the critical school of New Historicism.)

Question 17

sensual

(adj.)

Answer 17

involving sensory gratification, usually related to sex

(With a coy smile, the guest on the blind-date show announced that he considered himself a very sensual person.)

Question 18

sensuous

(adj.)

Answer 18

involving sensory gratification

(Paul found drinking Coke, with all the little bubbles bursting on his tongue, a very sensuous experience.)

Question 19

serendipity

(n.)

Answer 19

luck, finding good things without looking for them

(In an amazing bit of serendipity, penniless Paula found a $20 bill in the subway station.)

Question 20

serene

(adj.)

Answer 20

calm, untroubled

(Louise stood in front of the Mona Lisa, puzzling over the famous woman’s serene smile.)

Question 21

servile

(adj.)

Answer 21

subservient

(The servile porter crept around the hotel lobby, bowing and quaking before the guests.)

Question 22

sinuous

(adj.)

Answer 22

lithe, serpentine

(With the sinuous movements of her arms, the dancer mimicked the motion of a snake.)

Question 23

sobriety

(n.)

Answer 23

sedate, calm

(Jason believed that maintaining his sobriety in times of crisis was the key to success in life.)

Question 24

solicitous

(adj.)

Answer 24

concerned, attentive

(Jim, laid up in bed with a nasty virus, enjoyed the solicitous attentions of his mother, who brought him soup and extra blankets.)

Question 25

solipsistic | (adj.)

Answer 25

believing that oneself is all that exists ## Footnote (Colette’s **solipsistic** attitude completely ignored the plight of the homeless people on the street.)

Question 26

soluble | (adj.)

Answer 26

able to dissolve ## Footnote (The plot of the spy film revolved around an untraceable and water-**soluble** poison.)

Question 27

solvent | 1.(n.) 2.(adj.)

Answer 27

1. a substance that can dissolve other substances 2. able to pay debts ## Footnote 1. (Water is sometimes called the universal **solvent** because almost all other substances can dissolve into it.) 2. (Upon receiving an unexpected check from her aunt, Annabelle found herself suddenly **solvent**.)

Question 28

somnolent | (adj.)

Answer 28

sleepy, drowsy ## Footnote (The **somnolent** student kept falling asleep and waking up with a jerk.)

Question 29

sophomoric | (adj.)

Answer 29

immature, uninformed ## Footnote (The mature senior rolled her eyes at the **sophomoric** gross-out humor of the underclassman.)

Question 30

soveriegn | (adj.)

Answer 30

having absolute authority in a certain realm ## Footnote (The **sovereign** queen, with steely resolve, ordered that the traitorous nobleman be killed.)

Question 31

speculative | (adj.)

Answer 31

not absed in fact ## Footnote (Sadly, Tessa was convicted on merely **speculative** evidence.)

Question 32

spurious | (adj.)

Answer 32

false but designed to seem plausible ## Footnote (Using a **spurious** argument, John convinced the others that he had won the board game on a technicality.)

Question 33

stagnate | (v.)

Answer 33

to become or remain inactive, not develop, not flow ## Footnote (With no room for advancement, the waiter’s career **stagnated**.)

Question 34

staid | (adj.)

Answer 34

sedate, serious, self-restrained ## Footnote (The **staid** butler never changed his expression no matter what happened.)

Question 35

stingy | (adj.)

Answer 35

not generous, not inclined to spend or give ## Footnote (Scrooge’s **stingy** habits did not fit with the generous, giving spirit of Christmas.)

Question 36

stoic | (adj.)

Answer 36

unaffected by passion or feeling ## Footnote (Penelope’s faithfulness to Odysseus required that she be **stoic** and put off her many suitors.)

Question 37

stolid | (adj.)

Answer 37

expressing little sensibility, unemotional ## Footnote (Charles’s **stolid** reaction to his wife’s funeral differed from the passion he showed at the time of her death.)

Question 38

strenuous | (adj.)

Answer 38

requiring tremendous energy or stamina ## Footnote (Running a marathon is quite a **strenuous** task. So is watching an entire Star Trek marathon.)

Question 39

strident | (adj.)

Answer 39

harsh, loud ## Footnote (A **strident** man, Captain Von Trapp yelled at his daughter and made her cry.)

Question 40

stupefy | (v.)

Answer 40

to astonish, make insensible ## Footnote (Veronica’s audacity and ungratefulness **stupefied** her best friend, Heather.)

Question 41

subjugate | (v.)

Answer 41

to bring under sontrol, subdue ## Footnote (The invading force captured and **subjugated** the natives of that place.)

Question 42

sublime | (adj.)

Answer 42

lofty, grand, exalted ## Footnote (The homeless man sadly pondered his former wealth and once **sublime** existence.)

Question 43

submissive | (adj.)

Answer 43

easily yielding to authority ## Footnote (In some cultures, wives are supposed to be **submissive** and support their husbands in all matters.)

Question 44

succinct | (adj.)

Answer 44

marked by compact precision ## Footnote (The governor’s **succinct** speech energized the crowd while the mayor’s rambled on and on.)

Question 45

superfluous | (adj.)

Answer 45

exceeding what is necessary ## Footnote (Tracy had already won the campaign so her constant flattery of others was **superfluous**.)

Question 46

surfeit | (n.)

Answer 46

an overabundant supply or indulgence ## Footnote (After partaking of the **surfeit** of tacos and tamales at the All-You-Can-Eat Taco Tamale Lunch Special, Beth felt rather sick.)

Question 47

surmise | (v.)

Answer 47

to infer with little evidence ## Footnote (After speaking to only one of the students, the teacher was able to **surmise** what had caused the fight.)

Question 48

surreptitious | (adj.)

Answer 48

stealthy ## Footnote (The **surreptitious** CIA agents were able to get in and out of the house without anyone noticing.)

Question 49

surrogate | (n.)

Answer 49

one acting in place of another ## Footnote (The **surrogate** carried the child to term for its biological parents.)

Question 50

swarthy | (adj.)

Answer 50

of dark color or complexion ## Footnote (When he got drunk, Robinson’s white skin became rather **swarthy**.)

Question 51

sycophant | (n.)

Answer 51

one who flatters for self-gain ## Footnote (Some see the people in the cabinet as the president’s closest advisors, but others see them as **sycophants**.)