Day 26

Question 1

scant

Answer 1

Not enough or barely enough

Food was in scant supply.

Question 2

scathing

Answer 2

Severe, injurious; bitterly harsh or critical (as
a remark)
devastating, withering, blistering

“she launched a scathing attack on the Prime Minister”

Question 3

scintilla

Answer 3

A tiny bit or trace

“a scintilla of doubt”

Question 4

scurvy

Answer 4

Contemptible, mean

after winning the lottery, she was beset by a whole scurvy swarm of con artists, ne’er-do-wells, and hangers-on

Question 5

searchingly

Answer 5

In a searching or penetrating manner; while

examining closely or probing for answers

Question 6

secrete

Answer 6

Produce and release a substance from a cell

or gland of the body for a functional purpose

Question 7

secular

Answer 7

Not religious or holy; pertaining to worldly

things

Question 8

sedition

Answer 8

Inciting rebellion against a government, esp.
speech or writing that does this

The leaders of the group have been arrested and charged with sedition.

Question 9

semantic

Answer 9

Relating to the different meanings of words
or other symbols

the process of semantic development

Question 10

sentient

Answer 10

Conscious; experiencing sensation or
perceiving with the senses

That and sentient apes weren’t the end of the researchers’ bizarre conversational topics, Delehanty said.

Question 11

seraphic

Answer 11

Like an angel; serene, spiritually carried off
or transported

There are angels, seraphim, cherubim, holy chariots.

Question 12

shard

Answer 12

Fragment of some brittle substance, esp. a

sharp fragment of pottery, glass, etc.

Question 13

skeptic

Answer 13

Person inclined to doubting or questioning

generally accepted beliefs

Question 14

skirt

Answer 14

Border, lie along the edge of, go around;
evade

He tried to skirt around the question.

The road skirts around the lake.

Question 15

skittish

Answer 15

Shy, fickle, uncertain, or prone to act
suddenly due to nervousness; lively in a
restless or excessive way

We’ve been skittish about taking on such a large mortgage.

Question 16

slack

Answer 16

Loose, negligent, lazy, weak (adj); neglect to
do one’s duties; loosen up, relax (verb);
period of little work (noun)

Question 17

slake

Answer 17

Satisfy (esp. thirst), cool, or refresh; make
less active

trying to slake his curiosity

Question 18

slew

Answer 18

A large number or quantity

He has written a slew of books.

Question 19

slight

Answer 19

Small, not very important, slender or delicate
(adj); treat as though not very important;
snub, ignore (verb); an act of treating in this
way, a discourtesy (noun)

There is a slight chance of rain.
I’m sure he didn’t mean to slight you.

Question 20

sobriquet

Answer 20

A nickname

Baseball player Ty Cobb was also known by the sobriquet “The Georgia Peach.”

Question 21

solecism

Answer 21

Nonstandard use of grammar or words;
mistake, esp. in etiquette

the solecism of asking one’s hosts how much something in their house cost them

Question 22

solicitous

Answer 22

Concerned or anxious (about another
person), expressing care; eager or desirous;
very careful

He had always been solicitous for the welfare of his family.

Question 23

solidarity

Answer 23

Fellowship in interests, feelings,
responsibilities, etc., such as among a group
of people or among classes, nations, etc

The vote was a show of solidarity.

Question 24

somatic

Answer 24

Of the body

a somatic disorder that was once thought to be “all in the patient’s head”

Question 25

sound

Answer 25

Measure the depth of (usually of water) as with a
sounding line; penetrate and discover the
meaning of, understand (usually as sound the
depths)

She has a sound understanding of the system’s structure.

Question 26

spartan

Answer 26

Very disciplined and stern; frugal, living simply,

austere; suggestive of the ancient Spartans

Question 27

spate

Answer 27

Sudden outpouring or rush; flood

There was a spate of corporate mergers in the 1980s.

Question 28

spearhead

Answer 28

Be the leader of

She spearheaded the campaign for better schools.

Question 29

specious

Answer 29

Seemingly true but actually false; deceptively
attractive

By and large, they made these changes with specious explanations or no explanation at all. Today, when curricula list rhetoric as a subject, it usually means simply the study of how to write effectively.