SAT Words XII

Question 0

Serendipity (n.)

Answer 0

• gift for finding valuable or desirable things by accident, accidental good fortune or luck.
• Many scientific discoveries are a matter of serendipity: Newton wasn’t sitting under a tree thinking about gravity when the apple dropped on his head.

Question 1

Sequester (v.)

Answer 1

• isolate, retire from public life, segregate, seclude.

- Banished from his kingdom, the wizard Prosperous sequestered himself on a desert island.

Question 2

Serenity (n.)

Answer 2

• calmness, placidity.

- The sound of air raid sire s pierced the serenity of the quiet village of Pearl Harbor.

Question 3

Serpentine (adj.)

Answer 3

• winding, twisting.

- The car swerved at every curve in the serpentine road.

Question 4

Servile (adj.)

Answer 4

• slavish, cringing.

- Constantly fawning on his employer, humble Uriah Heap was a servile creature.

Question 5

Severity (n.)

Answer 5

• harshness, intensity, sternness, austerity.

- The severity of Jane’s migraine attack was so great that she took to her bed for a week.

Question 6

Shackle (v.)

Answer 6

• chain, fetter.

- In a chain gang, convicts are shackled together to prevent their escape.

Question 7

Sham (v.)

Answer 7

• pretend.

- He shammed sickness to get out of going to schoo.

Question 8

Shambles (n.)

Answer 8

• wreck, mess.

- After the hurricane, the Carolina coast was a shambles.

Question 9

Shard (n.)

Answer 9

• fragment, generally of pottery.
• The archaeologist assigned several students the task of reassembling earthenware vessels from the shards he had brought back from the expedition.

Question 10

Shear (v.)

Answer 10

• cut or clip (hair, fleece), strip of something.

- You may not care to cut a sheep’s hair, but Sarah shears sheep for Little Bo Peep.

Question 11

Sheathe (v.)

Answer 11

-As soon as he recognized the approaching men, he sheathed his dagger and hailed them as friends.

Question 12

Sheer (adj.)

Answer 12

• very thin or transparent, very steep, absolute.

- Wearing nothing but an almost sheer robe, Delilah drapes herself against her sheer temple wall.

Question 13

Shimmer (v.)

Answer 13

• glimmer intermittently.

- The moonlight shimmered on the water as the moon broke through the clouds for a moment.

Question 14

Shirk (v.)

Answer 14

• avoid (responsibility, work, etc.), malinger.

- Brian has a strong sense of duty; he would never shirk any responsibility.

Question 15

Shoddy (adj.)

Answer 15

• inferior, trashy, cheap.

- Grumbling, “They don’t make things the way they used to,” Grandpa complained about the shoddy workmanship nowadays.

Question 16

Shrewd (adj.)

Answer 16

• clever, astute.

- A shrewd investor, he took clever advantage of the fluctuations of the stock market.

Question 17

Shroud (v.)

Answer 17

• hide from view, wrap for burial.

- Fog shrouded Dracula’s castle, hiding the ruined tower beneath sheets of mist.

Question 18

Shun (v.)

Answer 18

• keep away from.

- Cherishing his solitude, the recluse shunned the company of other human beings.

Question 19

Simper (v.)

Answer 19

• smirk, smile affectedly.

- Complimented on her appearance, Stella self-consciously simpered.

Question 20

Sinecure (n.)

Answer 20

• well-paid position with little responsibility.

- My job is no sinecure; I work long hours and have much responsibility.

Question 21

Sinewy (adj.)

Answer 21

• tough, strong and firm.

- The steak was too sinewy to chew.

Question 22

Singular (adj.)

Answer 22

• unique, extraordinary, odd.
• Though the young man tried to understand Father William’s singular behavior, he still found it odd that the old man incessantly stood on his head.

Question 23

Sinuous (adj.)

Answer 23

• winding, bending in and out, not morally honest.

- The snake moved in a sinuous manner.

Question 24

Skimp (v.)

Answer 24

• provide scantily, live very economically.

- They were forced to skimp on necessities in order to make their limited supplies last the winter.

Question 25

Skinflint (n.)

Answer 25

• stingy person, miser.

- Scrooge was an in generous old skinflint until he reformed his ways and became notable philanthropist.