Vocab

Question 1

sequester (v.)

Answer 1

isolate; retire from public life; segregate; seclude
Banished from his kingdom, the wizard Prospero sequestered himself on a desert island. To prevent the jurors from hearing news broadcasts about the case, the judge decided to sequester the jury.

Question 2

serendipity (n.)

Answer 2

gift of finding valuable or desirable things by accident; accidental good fortune or luck.
Many scientific discoveries are a matter of serendipity. Newton was not sitting under a tree thinking about gravity when the apple dropped on his head.

Question 3

serenity (n.)

Answer 3

calmness, placidity

The sound of air raid sirens pierced the serenity of the quiet village of Pearl Harbor.

Question 4

serpentine (adj.)

Answer 4

winding; twisting

The cars swerved at every curve in the serpentine road.

Question 5

servile (adj.)

Answer 5

slavish; cringing

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

Question 6

severity (n.)

Answer 6

harshness; intensity, sternness; austerity

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

Question 7

shackle (v.)

Answer 7

chain, fetter

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

Question 8

sham (v.)

Answer 8

pretend

He shammed sickness to get out of going to school.

Question 9

shambles (n.)

Answer 9

wreck, mess

After the hurricane, the Carolina coast was a shambles. After the New Year’s Eve party, the apartment was a shambles.

Question 10

shard (n.)

Answer 10

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

Question 11

shear (v.)

Answer 11

cut or clip (hair,fleece); strip of something

You may not care to cut a sheep’s hair, but Sarah sheers sheep for Little Bo Beep.

Question 12

sheathe (v.)

Answer 12

place into a case.

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

Question 13

sheer (adj.)

Answer 13

very thin or transparent; very steep; absolute
Wearing nothing but an almost sheer robe, Delilah draped herself against the sheer temple wall. Beholding her, Samson was overcome by her sheer beauty. Then she sheared his hair.

Question 14

shimmer (v.)

Answer 14

glimmer intermittently.

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

Question 15

shirk (v.)

Answer 15

avoid(responsibility, work, etc); malinger.

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

Question 16

shoddy (adj.)

Answer 16

inferior, trashy, cheap

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

Question 17

shrewd (adj.)

Answer 17

clever; astute

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

Question 18

shroud (v.)

Answer 18

hide from view; wrap for burial.

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

Question 19

shun (v.)

Answer 19

keep away from

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

Question 20

simper (v.)

Answer 20

smirk; smile affectedly

Complimented on her appearance, Stella self-consciously simpered.

Question 21

sinecure (n.)

Answer 21

well paid position with little responsibility.

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

Question 22

sinewy (adj.)

Answer 22

tough; strong and firm.

The steak was too sinewy to chew.

Question 23

singular (adj.)

Answer 23

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 24

sinuous (adj.)

Answer 24

winding, bending in and out; not morally honest

The snake moved in a sinuous manner.

Question 25

skimp (v.)

Answer 25

provide scantily, live very economically

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

Question 26

skinflint (n.)

Answer 26

stingy person, miser

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