S

Question 1

sagacious

Answer 1

(adjective) discerning, wise.

Only a leader as sagacious as Nelson Mandela could have united South Africa so successfully and peacefully.

sagacity (noun)

Question 2

salvage

Answer 2

(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)

Question 3

sanctimonious

Answer 3

(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)

Question 4

scapegoat

Answer 4

(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.

Question 5

scrupulous

Answer 5

(adjective) acting with extreme care; painstaking.

Disney theme parks are famous for their scrupulous attention to small details.

scruple (noun)

Question 6

scrutinize

Answer 6

(verb) to study closely.

The lawyer scrutinized the contract, searching for any sentence that could pose a risk for her client.

scrutiny (noun)

Question 7

secrete

Answer 7

(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.

Question 8

sedentary

Answer 8

(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.

Question 9

sequential

Answer 9

(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)

Question 10

serendipity

Answer 10

(noun) the act of lucky, accidental discoveries.

Great inventions sometimes come about through deliberate research and hard work, sometimes through pure serendipity.

serendipitous (adjective)

Question 11

servile

Answer 11

(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)

Question 12

simulated

Answer 12

(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)

Question 13

solace

Answer 13

(verb) to comfort or console.

There was little the rabbi could say to solace the husband after his wife’s death.

solace (noun)

Question 14

spontaneous

Answer 14

(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)

Question 15

spurious

Answer 15

(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.

Question 16

squander

Answer 16

(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.

Question 17

stagnate

Answer 17

(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)

Question 18

staid

Answer 18

(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.

Question 19

stimulus

Answer 19

(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)

Question 20

stoic

Answer 20

(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)

Question 21

strenuous

Answer 21

(adjective) requiring energy and strength.

Hiking in the foothills of the Rockies is fairly easy, but climbing the higher peaks can be strenuous.

Question 22

submissive

Answer 22

(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.

Question 23

substantiate

Answer 23

(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)

Question 24

sully

Answer 24

(verb) to soil, stain, or defile.

Nixon’s misdeeds as president did much to sully the reputation of the American government.

Question 25

superficial

Answer 25

(adjective) on the surface only; without depth or substance.

Her wound was superficial and required only a light bandage. His superficial attractiveness hides the fact that his personality is lifeless and his mind is dull.

superficiality (noun)

Question 26

superfluous

Answer 26

(adjective) more than is needed, excessive.

Once you’ve won the debate, don’t keep talking; superfluous arguments will only bore and annoy the audience.

Question 27

suppress

Answer 27

(verb) to put down or restrain.

As soon as the unrest began, thousands of helmeted police were sent into the streets to suppress the riots.

suppression (noun)

Question 28

surfeit

Answer 28

(noun) an excess.

Most American families have a surfeit of food and drink on Thanksgiving Day.

surfeit (verb)

Question 29

surreptitious

Answer 29

(adjective) done in secret.

Because Iraq avoided weapons inspections, many believed it had a surreptitious weapons development program.

Question 30

surrogate

Answer 30

(noun) a substitute.

When the congressman died in office, his wife was named to serve the rest of his term as a surrogate.

surrogate (adjective)

Question 31

sustain

Answer 31

(verb) to keep up, to continue; to support.

Because of fatigue, he was unable to sustain the effort needed to finish the marathon.