Word List 43 Flashcards Preview

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Flashcards in Word List 43 Deck (21)
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1
Q

Sententious (adj)

A

preaching and moralising; pithy

2
Q

Septic (adj)

A

putrid; producing putrefaction

The hospital was in a filthy state that we were afraid that many of the patients would suffer from septic poisoning

3
Q

Sequester (v)

A

isolate; retire from public life; segregate; seclude

The judge decided to sequester the jury

4
Q

Servile (adj)

A

slavish; cringing

Constantly fawning on his employer, humble Uriah Heep was a servile creature

5
Q

Shirk (v)

A

avoid

6
Q

Shoddy (adj)

A

sham; not genuine; inferior

7
Q

Shrewd (adj)

A

clever; astute

A shrewd investor, she took clever advantage of the fluctuations of the stock market

8
Q

Sinecure (n)

A

well paid position with little responsibility

My job is no sinecure, I work long hours and have much responsibility

9
Q

Skimp (v)

A

provide scantily; live very economically

10
Q

Skinflint (n)

A

stingy person; miser

Scrooge was an ungenerous old skinflint until he reformed his ways and became a notable philanthropist

11
Q

Skittish (adj)

A

lively; frisky

She is as skittish as a kitten playing with a piece of string

12
Q

Skulduggery (v)

A

dishonest behaviour

The investigation into municipal corruption turned up new instances of skulduggery daily

13
Q

Skulk (v)

A

move furtively and secretly

He skulked through the less fashionable sections of the city in order to avoid meeting any of his former friends

14
Q

Slapdash (adj)

A

haphazard; careless; sloppy

From the number of typos int he report, it’s clear that Mario proofread the report in a remarkably slapdash fashion

15
Q

Slipshod (adj)

A

untidy or slovenly; shabby

As a master craftsmen, the carpenter prided himself on never doing slipshod work

16
Q

Smattering (n)

A

slight knowledge

I don’t know whether it is better to be ignorant of a subject or to have a mere smattering of information about it

17
Q

Sobriety (n)

A

moderation (especially regarding indulgence in alcohol); seriousness
Neither falling-down drunks nor stand up comics are noted for sobriety

18
Q

Solace (n)

A

comfort in trouble

19
Q

Solemnity (n)

A

seriousness; gravity

20
Q

Soliloquy (n)

A

talking to oneself

The soliloquy is a device used by the dramatist to reveal a character’s innermost thoughts and emotions

21
Q

Somber (adj)

A

gloomy; depressing

From the doctor’s grim expression I could tell he had somber news