S Flashcards
sagacious
(adjective) discerning, wise.
Only a leader as sagacious as Nelson Mandela could have united South Africa so successfully and peacefully.
sagacity (noun)
salvage
(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)
sanctimonious
(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)
scapegoat
(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.
scrupulous
(adjective) acting with extreme care; painstaking.
Disney theme parks are famous for their scrupulous attention to small details.
scruple (noun)
scrutinize
(verb) to study closely.
The lawyer scrutinized the contract, searching for any sentence that could pose a risk for her client.
scrutiny (noun)
secrete
(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.
sedentary
(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.
sequential
(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)
serendipity
(noun) the act of lucky, accidental discoveries.
Great inventions sometimes come about through deliberate research and hard work, sometimes through pure serendipity.
serendipitous (adjective)
servile
(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)
simulated
(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)
solace
(verb) to comfort or console.
There was little the rabbi could say to solace the husband after his wife’s death.
solace (noun)
spontaneous
(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)
spurious
(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.
squander
(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.
stagnate
(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)
staid
(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.
stimulus
(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)
stoic
(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)
strenuous
(adjective) requiring energy and strength.
Hiking in the foothills of the Rockies is fairly easy, but climbing the higher peaks can be strenuous.
submissive
(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.
substantiate
(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)
sully
(verb) to soil, stain, or defile.
Nixon’s misdeeds as president did much to sully the reputation of the American government.
