2024

Question 1

sate

Answer 1

D. to satisfy a desire

E. The meal was more than enough to sate his hunger. / The information sated their curiosity.

Question 2

satiate

Answer 2

D. to glut, to give somebody so much of something that they do not feel they want any more

E. a long drink of water at last satiated my thirst / a couple of satiate dinner guests had ensconced themselves on the living room sofa

Question 3

saturate

Answer 3

D. to soak

E. The company had saturated the market for personal organizers (= so that no new buyers could be found).

Question 4

saturnine

\ˈsa-tər-ˌnīn\

Answer 4

D. looking serious and threatening; gloomy (like Saturn)

E. the men awaiting interrogation by the police shared a saturnine silence

Question 5

savant

\sa-ˈvänt\

Answer 5

D. a scholar

E. a savant in the field of medical ethics

Question 6

savoir faire

\ˌsav-ˌwär-ˈfer\

Answer 6

D. tact

E. I admire her sophistication and savoir faire.

Question 7

savor

Answer 7

D. to enjoy the full taste or flavour of something, especially by eating or drinking it slowly; to enjoy a feeling or an experience thoroughly

E. I wanted to savour every moment.

Question 8

scabrous

\ˈska-brəs\

Answer 8

D. offensive or shocking in a sexual way; having a rough surface

E. a movie with scabrous humor / a scabrous problem / scabrous skin

Question 9

scapegoat

\ˈskāp-ˌgōt\

Answer 9

D. one who is blamed for the wrongs of other

E. She felt she had been made a scapegoat for her boss’s incompetence.

Question 10

scathing

'sā-thing\

Answer 10

D. harsh; biting

E. a scathing rebuttal of the latest theory concerning the assassination

Question 11

schism

\ˈsi-zəm\

Answer 11

D. a split

E. a schism between leading members of the party

Question 12

scintilla

\sin-ˈti-lə\

Answer 12

D. a tiny bit

E. there is not a scintilla of evidence for your outrageous claims

Question 13

scintillate

Answer 13

D. to sparkle; to show verbal brilliance

E. we watched contentedly as our campfire scintillated in the darkness / scintillate witticisms

Question 14

scion

\ˈsī-ən\

Answer 14

D. an offspring

E. He’s a scion of a powerful family.

Question 15

scoff

\ˈskäf\

Answer 15

D. to talk about somebody/something in a way that makes it clear that you think they are stupid or ridiculous

E. He scoffed at our amateurish attempts.

Question 16

scourge

'scər-ji\

Answer 16

D. a person or thing that causes trouble or suffering

E. the scourge of war/disease/poverty / Inflation was the scourge of the 1970s.

Question 17

scruple

\ˈskrü-pəl\

Answer 17

D. a feeling that prevents you from doing something that you think may be morally wrong

E. I overcame my moral scruples.

Question 18

scrupulous

Answer 18

D. very careful in doing what is correct

E. You must be scrupulous about hygiene when you’re preparing a baby’s feed.

Question 19

scrutiny

Answer 19

D. careful and thorough examination

E. Her argument doesn’t really stand up to scrutiny. / The documents should be available for public scrutiny.

Question 20

scurrilous

Answer 20

D. ery rude and insulting, and intended to damage somebody’s reputation

E. scurrilous attacks on the senator

Question 21

scuttle

\ˈskä-təl\

Answer 21

D. to run with quick short steps; to deliberately cause something to fail; o sink a ship deliberately by making holes in the side or bottom of it

E. She scuttled off when she heard the sound of his voice. / Shareholders successfully scuttled the deal.

Question 22

sebaceous

\si-ˈbā-shəs\

Answer 22

D. producing a substance like oil in the body

E. the sebaceous glands in the skin

Question 23

secede

\si-ˈsēd\

Answer 23

D. to withdraw

E. South Carolina seceded from the Union in 1860.

Question 24

secular

Answer 24

D. worldly

E. that’s an issue for the secular authorities, not the church

Question 25

sedate

\si-ˈdāt\

Answer 25

D. calm; serious

E. We walked the beach at a sedate pace. / He remained sedate under pressure.

Question 26

sedentary

\ˈse-dən-ˌter-ē\

Answer 26

D. spending a lot of time sitting down and not moving; that stay and live in the same place or area ( migratory)

E. He became increasingly sedentary in later life. / Rhinos are largely sedentary animals.

Question 27

seditious

\si-ˈdi-shəs\

Answer 27

D. pertaining to revolt against government

E. several dissidents were jailed for leading protests that the government branded as seditious

Question 28

sedulous

Answer 28

D. diligent; showing great care and effort in your work

E. sedulous attention to detail

Question 29

seethe

Answer 29

D. to boil; to foam

Question 30

seine

\ˈsān\

Answer 30

D. a fishing net

Question 31

seismic

\ˈsīz-mik\

Answer 31

D. pertaining to earthquake

E. Seismic social changes have occurred.

Question 32

semantic

\si-ˈman-tik\

Answer 32

D. pertaining to meaning of words and sentences

E. semantic analysis / semantically related words

Question 33

semblance

\ˈsem-blən(t)s\

Answer 33

D. appearance

E. tried to project some semblance of confidence even though public speaking terrified her

Question 34

senile

\ˈsē-ˌnī(-ə)l\

Answer 34

D. behaving in a confused or strange way, and unable to remember things, because you are old

E. I think she’s going senile. / an old man on the verge of senility

Question 35

sensual

Answer 35

D. connected with your physical feelings; giving pleasure to your physical senses

E. Food is a great sensual experience. / Her face had an air of sleepy sensuality.

Question 36

sententious

\sen-ˈten(t)-shəs\

Answer 36

D. trying to sound important or intelligent, especially by expressing moral judgements

E. sententious remarks / a sententious crank who has written countless letters to the editor about the decline in family values

Question 37

sepulcher

\ˈse-pəl-kər\

Answer 37

D. a tomb

E. a poem describing the forgotten sepulcher of a valiant knight of the Middle Ages

Question 38

sequester

\si-ˈkwes-tər\

Answer 38

D. to set apart; to withdraw

E. The old lady sequestered herself from all strangers. / The jury was sequestered until a verdict was reached.

Question 39

serene

Answer 39

D. calm

Question 40

sentient

\ˈsen(t)-sh(ē-)ənt\

Answer 40

D. feeling; conscious

E. sentient of the danger posed by the approaching hurricane

Question 41

serrated

\ˈser-ˌāt\

Answer 41

D. having a series of sharp points on the edge like a saw

E. a knife with a serrated edge

Question 42

servile

Answer 42

D. slavelike

Question 43

sever

\ˈse-vər\

Answer 43

D. to separate; to cut in two, especially : to remove by cutting

E. His finger was severed in the accident. / Activists are asking the government to sever all diplomatic relations with the country.

Question 44

shackle

\ˈsha-kəl\

Answer 44

D. to hold back; to restrain

E. placed shackles on the legs of the prisoners> / the shackles of illiteracy can be just as confining as leg irons

Question 45

shambles

Answer 45

D. a slaughterhouse; a place of disorder

E. the city was a shambles after the bombing

Question 46

shard

\ˈshärd\

Answer 46

D. a broken piece (of pottery)

E. shards of glass / little shards of time and space recorded by the camera’s lens