sp- Flashcards
(17 cards)
spare
verb (used with object), spared, spar·ing.
to refrain from harming or destroying; leave uninjured; forbear to punish, hurt, or destroy:
to spare one’s enemy.
to deal gently or leniently with; show consideration for:
His harsh criticism spared no one.
to save from strain, discomfort, embarrassment, or the like, or from a particular cause of it:
to spare him the bother; to spare her needless embarrassment.
to refrain from, forbear, omit, or withhold, as action or speech:
Spare us the gory details.
to refrain from employing, as some instrument or recourse:
to spare the rod.
to set aside for a particular purpose:
to spare land for a garden.
to give or lend, as from a supply, especially without inconvenience or loss:
Can you spare a cup of sugar? Can you spare me a dollar till payday?
to dispense with or do without:
We can’t spare a single worker during the rush hour.
to use economically or frugally; refrain from using up or wasting:
A walnut sundae, and don’t spare the whipped cream!
to have remaining as excess or surplus:
We can make the curtains and have a yard to spare.
SEE LESS
verb (used without object), spared, spar·ing.
to use economy; be frugal.
to refrain from inflicting injury or punishment; exercise lenience or mercy.
Obsolete. to refrain from action; forbear.
SEE LESS
adjective, spar·er, spar·est.
kept in reserve, as for possible use:
a spare part.
being in excess of present need; free for other use:
spare time.
frugally restricted or meager, as a manner of living or a diet:
a spare regime.
lean or thin, as a person.
scanty or scant, as in amount or fullness.
economical, moderate, or temperate, as persons; sparing.
sparse
adjective, spars·er, spars·est. thinly scattered or distributed: a sparse population. not thick or dense; thin: sparse hair. scanty; meager.
sparkle
verb (used without object), spar·kled, spar·kling.
to issue in or as if in little sparks, as fire or light:
The candlelight sparkled in the crystal.
to emit little sparks, as burning matter:
The flames leaped and sparkled.
to shine or glisten with little gleams of light, as a brilliant gem; glitter; coruscate.
to effervesce, as wine.
to be brilliant, lively, or vivacious.
SEE LESS
verb (used with object), spar·kled, spar·kling.
to cause to sparkle:
moonlight sparkling the water; pleasure sparkling her eyes.
noun
a little spark or fiery particle.
a sparkling appearance, luster, or play of light:
the sparkle of a diamond.
brilliance, liveliness, or vivacity.
spacious
adjective
containing much space, as a house, room, or vehicle; amply large.
occupying much space; vast.
of a great extent or area; broad; large; great:
the spacious prairies.
broad in scope, range, inclusiveness, etc.:
a spacious approach to a problem.
spectrum
Physics.
an array of entities, as light waves or particles, ordered in accordance with the magnitudes of a common physical property, as wavelength or mass: often the band of colors produced when sunlight is passed through a prism, comprising red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.
this band or series of colors together with extensions at the ends that are not visible to the eye, but that can be studied by means of photography, heat effects, etc., and that are produced by the dispersion of radiant energy other than ordinary light rays.Compare band spectrum, electromagnetic spectrum, mass spectrum.
a broad range of varied but related ideas or objects, the individual features of which tend to overlap so as to form a continuous series or sequence:
the spectrum of political beliefs.
speculation
noun
the contemplation or consideration of some subject:
to engage in speculation on humanity’s ultimate destiny.
a single instance or process of consideration.
a conclusion or opinion reached by such contemplation:
These speculations are impossible to verify.
conjectural consideration of a matter; conjecture or surmise:
a report based on speculation rather than facts.
engagement in business transactions involving considerable risk but offering the chance of large gains, especially trading in commodities, stocks, etc., in the hope of profit from changes in the market price.
a speculative commercial venture or undertaking.
specialized
.
species
.
specimen
noun
a part or an individual taken as exemplifying a whole mass or number; a typical animal, plant, mineral, part, etc.
(in medicine, microbiology, etc.) a sample of a substance or material for examination or study:
a urine specimen; a tissue specimen.
a particular or peculiar kind of person.
spin
verb (used with object), spun or (Archaic) span, spun, spin·ning.
to make (yarn) by drawing out, twisting, and winding fibers:
Pioneer women spun yarn on spinning wheels.
to form (the fibers of any material) into thread or yarn:
The machine spins nylon thread.
(of spiders, silkworms, etc.) to produce (a thread, cobweb, gossamer, silk, etc.) by extruding from the body a long, slender filament of a natural viscous matter that hardens in the air.
to cause to turn around rapidly, as on an axis; twirl; whirl:
to spin a coin on a table.
Informal. to play (phonograph records):
a job spinning records on a radio show.
Metalworking. to shape (sheet metal) into a hollow, rounded form by pressure from a tool while rotating the metal on a lathe or wheel.
to produce, fabricate, or evolve in a manner suggestive of spinning thread:
to spin a tale of sailing ships and bygone days.
Rocketry. to cause intentionally (a rocket or guided missile) to undergo a roll.
to draw out, protract, or prolong (often followed by out):
He spun the project out for over three years.
British. to flunk a student in an examination or a term’s work.
Slang. to cause to have a particular bias; influence in a certain direction:
His assignment was to spin the reporters after the president’s speech.
SEE LESS
verb (used without object), spun or (Archaic) span, spun, spin·ning.
to revolve or rotate rapidly, as the earth or a top.
to produce a thread from the body, as spiders or silkworms.
to produce yarn or thread by spinning.
to move, go, run, ride, or travel rapidly.
to have a sensation of whirling; reel:
My head began to spin and I fainted.
to fish with a spinning or revolving bait.
SEE LESS
noun
the act of causing a spinning or whirling motion.
a spinning motion given to a ball, wheel, axle, or other object.
a downward movement or trend, especially one that is sudden, alarming, etc.:
Steel prices went into a spin.
a rapid run, ride, drive, or the like, as for exercise or enjoyment:
They went for a spin in the car.
Slang. a particular viewpoint or bias, especially in the media; slant:
They tried to put a favorable spin on the news coverage of the controversial speech.
Also called tailspin, tail spin .Aeronautics. a maneuver in which an airplane descends in a vertical direction along a helical path of large pitch and small radius at an angle of attack greater than the critical angle, dangerous when not done intentionally or under control.
Rocketry.
the act of intentionally causing a rocket or guided missile to undergo a roll.
a roll so caused.
Also called spin angular momentum .Physics. the intrinsic angular momentum characterizing each kind of elementary particle, having one of the values 0, 1/2, 1/3, … when measured in units of Planck’s constant divided by 2π.
Australian. a run of luck; fate.
spice
noun
any of a class of pungent or aromatic substances of vegetable origin, as pepper, cinnamon, or cloves, used as seasoning, preservatives, etc.
such substances collectively or as material:
Cookies without spice can be tasteless.
a spicy or aromatic odor or fragrance.
something that gives zest:
a spice of humor in his solemnity.
a piquant, interesting element or quality; zest; piquancy:
The anecdotes lent spice to her talk.
Archaic. a small quantity of something; trace; bit.
SEE LESS
verb (used with object), spiced, spic·ing.
to prepare or season with a spice or spices.
to give zest, piquancy, or interest to by something added.
Trademark.
(initial capital letter) the proprietary name of a brand of synthetic cannabis compound.
sprint
verb (used without object) to race or move at full speed, especially for a short distance, as in running, rowing, etc. verb (used with object) to traverse in sprinting: to sprint a half mile. noun a short race at full speed. a burst of speed at any point during a long race, as near the finish line. a brief spell of great activity.
spring
verb (used without object), sprang or, often, sprung; sprung; spring·ing.
to rise, leap, move, or act suddenly and swiftly, as by a sudden dart or thrust forward or outward, or being suddenly released from a coiled or constrained position:
to spring into the air; a tiger about to spring.
to be released from a constrained position, as by resilient or elastic force or from the action of a spring:
A trap springs. The door sprang open and in he walked.
to issue forth suddenly, as water, blood, sparks, fire, etc. (often followed by forth, out, or up):
Blood sprang from the wound.
to come into being, rise, or arise within a short time (usually followed by up):
Industries sprang up in the suburbs.
to come into being by growth, as from a seed or germ, bulb, root, etc.; grow, as plants.
to proceed or originate from a specific source or cause.
to have as one’s birth or lineage; be descended, as from a person, family, stock, etc.; come from:
to spring from ancient aristocracy.
to rise or extend upward, as a spire.
to take an upward course or curve from a point of support, as an arch.
to come or appear suddenly, as if at a bound:
An objection sprang to mind.
to start or rise from cover, as a pheasant, woodcock, or the like.
to become bent or warped, as boards.
to shift or work loose, as parts of a mechanism, structure, etc.:
The board sprang from the fence during the storm.
to explode, as a mine.
Archaic. to begin to appear, as day, light, etc.; dawn.
SEE LESS
verb (used with object), sprang or, often, sprung; sprung; spring·ing.
to cause to spring.
to cause to fly back, move, or act, as by resiliency, elastic force, a spring, etc.:
to spring a lock.
to cause to shift out of place, work loose, warp, split, or crack:
Moisture sprang the board from the fence.
to split or crack:
The ship sprang its keel on a rock.
to develop by or as by splitting or cracking:
The boat sprang a leak.
to bend by force, or force in by bending, as a resilient slat or bar.
to stretch or bend (a spring or other resilient device) beyond its elastic tolerance:
This clip has been sprung.
to bring out, disclose, produce, make, etc., suddenly:
to spring a joke.
to leap over.
Slang. to secure the release of (someone) from confinement, as of jail, military service, or the like.
Nautical. to move (a vessel) into or out of a berth by pulling on the offshore end of a warp made fast to the pier.
to explode (a mine).
SEE LESS
noun
a leap, jump, or bound.
a sudden movement caused by the release of something elastic.
an elastic or bouncing quality:
There is a spring in his walk.
elasticity or resilience:
This board has spring in it.
a structural defect or injury caused by a warp, crack, etc.
an issue of water from the earth, taking the form, on the surface, of a small stream or standing as a pool or small lake.
the place of such an issue:
mineral springs.
a source or fountainhead of something:
a spring of inspiration.
an elastic contrivance or body, as a strip or wire of steel coiled spirally, that recovers its shape after being compressed, bent, or stretched.
the season between winter and summer: in the Northern Hemisphere from the vernal equinox to the summer solstice; in the Southern Hemisphere from the autumnal equinox to the winter solstice.
(in temperate zones) the season of the year following winter and characterized by the budding of trees, growth of plants, the onset of warmer weather, etc.
the first stage and freshest period:
the spring of life.
sometimes initial capital letter. a period of growth, recovery, or regeneration (usually used in combination):
signs of an economic spring.
usually initial capital letter.
a popular movement calling for liberal reforms and opposing authoritarian restrictions on freedom and information access (usually used in combination):
the brief Seoul Spring of 1979–80; the Academic Spring’s goal of free access to published research.
See also Prague Spring, Arab Spring.
a period of liberalization or democratization.
Nautical.
warp (def. 16).
a line from the quarter of a vessel to an anchor on the bottom, used to hold the vessel at its mooring, broadside to the current.
Also called springing. Architecture.
the point at which an arch or dome rises from its support.
the rise or the angle of the rise of an arch.
Archaic. the dawn, as of day, light, etc.
spoil
verb (used with object), spoiled or spoilt, spoil·ing.
to damage severely or harm (something), especially with reference to its excellence, value, usefulness, etc.:
The water stain spoiled the painting. Drought spoiled the corn crop.
to diminish or impair the quality of; affect detrimentally:
Bad weather spoiled their vacation.
to impair, damage, or harm the character or nature of (someone) by unwise treatment, excessive indulgence, etc.:
to spoil a child by pampering him.
Archaic. to strip (persons, places, etc.) of goods, valuables, etc.; plunder; pillage; despoil.
Archaic. to take or seize by force.
SEE LESS
verb (used without object), spoiled or spoilt, spoil·ing.
to become bad, or unfit for use, as food or other perishable substances; become tainted or putrid:
Milk spoils if not refrigerated.
to plunder, pillage, or rob.
noun
Often spoils. booty, loot, or plunder taken in war or robbery.
the act of plundering.
an object of plundering.
Usually spoils.
the emoluments and advantages of public office viewed as won by a victorious political party:
the spoils of office.
prizes won or treasures accumulated:
a child’s spoils brought home from a party.
waste material, as that which is cast up in mining, excavating, quarrying, etc.
an imperfectly made object, damaged during the manufacturing process.
sponge
.
sponsor
.
spouse
noun
either member of a married pair in relation to the other; one’s husband or wife.
verb (used with object), spoused, spous·ing.
Obsolete. to join, give, or take in marriage.
