Word List 34 Flashcards
sophistry
subtly deceptive reasoning or argumentation
soporific
causing or tending to cause sleep
tending to dull awareness or alertness
e.g. the soporific heat of summer
sopping
wet through; soaking
sordid
marked by baseness or grossness; vile
dirty, filthy
meanly avaricious; covetous
e.g. sordid details of his past
sow
an adult female swine
to plant seed for growth especially by scattering
to set something in motion; begin an enterprise
e.g. sow corn
The new policy has sown confusion and doubt.
We walked through a valley sown with boulders.
spackle
to apply crack-filling paste to
spar
box
skirmish, wrangle
sparse
of few and scattered elements; especially, not thickly grown or settled
spartan
a person of great courage and self-discipline
marked by strict self-discipline or self-denial
marked by simplicity, frugality, or avoidance of luxury and comfort
laconic
undaunted by pain or danger
e.g. a spartan athlete/room
spat
a brief petty quarrel or angry outburst
to quarrel pettily or briefly
e.g. lovers’ spat
spat over money more than anything else
spate
freshet, flood
a large number or amount
a sudden or strong outburst; rush
e.g. a spate of books on gardening
a spate of anger
spawn
to produce or deposit
bring forth, generate
e.g. The health-food craze spawned a multimillion-dollar industry.
specious
having deceptive attraction or allure
having a false look of truth or genuineness; sophistic
e.g. a specious argument that really does not stand up under close examination
specter
a visible disembodied spirit; ghost
something that haunts or perturbs the mind; phantasm
e.g. feeling so terrified that every shadow became a specter
the specter of hunger
spell
an indeterminate period of time
e.g. wait a spell before continuing
spendthrift
a person who spends improvidently or wastefully
also
spindly
of a disproportionately tall or long and thin appearance that often suggests physical weakness
frail or flimsy in appearance or structure
e.g. spindly, underfed dogs roamed the poverty-stricken village
spite
petty ill will or hatred with the disposition to irritate, annoy, or thwart
e.g. spread cruel lies out of pure spite
spleen
feelings of anger or ill will often suppressed
e.g. The bill’s failure to pass in the legislature was due to nothing more than partisan spleen.
splice
to unite, link, or insert as if by splicing
e.g. splice a human gene for insulin into a bacterium
splurge
an ostentatious effort, display, or expenditure
to indulge oneself extravagantly (oft. used with on)
e.g. the annual pre-Christmas splurge
I’d splurged about $2,500 on clothes.
spoke
one of the bars that connect the center of a wheel to the rim
spoof
deceive, hoax
to make good-natured fun of
hoax, deception
a light humorous parody
e.g. They proceeded to spoof Western intelligence with false information.
It is a movie that spoofs other movies.
sporadic
occurring occasionally, singly, or in irregular or random instances
sport
to amuse oneself; frolic
to mock or ridicule something
to display or wear usually ostentatiously; boast
e.g. sporting expensive new shoes
sprawling
spreading or developing irregularly or without restraint
e.g. bushes sprawling along the road
a sprawling narrative
sprig
a small shoot; twig
heir; youth
e.g. a sprig of the French nobility
sprightly
marked by a gay lightness and vivacity; spirited
having a distinctively piquant taste; zesty
e.g. a sprightly musical/salsa
spruce
to make spruce
neat or smart in appearance; trim
e.g. a slim, spruce man in a tailor-made business suit
spruce himself up a bit
spurious
outwardly similar or corresponding to something without having its genuine qualities; false
of a deceitful nature or quality
e.g. the spurious eminence of the pop celebrity
spurious excuses
squalid
marked by filthiness and degradation from neglect or poverty
sordid
squall
to cry out raucously; scream
to utter in a strident voice
a sudden violent wind often with rain or snow
a short-lived commotion
squalor
- squalid
e. g. shocked by the squalor of their surroundings
squander
to spend extravagantly or foolishly; dissipate, waste
to cause to disperse; scatter
e.g. squander this opportunity / squander money
square
to regulate or adjust by or to some standards or principle
balance, settle
to set right; bring into agreement
e.g. square our actions by the opinions of others
square an account
square their goals with their beliefs
squash
to press or beat into a pulp or a flat mass; crush
put down, suppress
e.g. squash a revolt
squelch
to completely suppress; quell
silence
e.g. squelch resistance / protesters
staid
marked by settled sedateness and often prim self-restraint; sober, grave
e.g. a staid and solemn businessman
stalemate
a drawn contest; deadlock; also, the state of being stalemated
stalwart
marked by outstanding strength and vigor of body, mind, or spirit
e.g. stalwart soldiers
stalwart common sense
stanch
to check or stop the flowing of
e.g. stancher her tears
stanch the crime wave
staple
a place of supply; source
a chief commodity or production of a place
used, needed, or enjoyed constantly usually by many individuals
produced regularly or in large quantities
principal, chief
e.g. a staple plot in mystery
stark
rigid in or as if in death; rigidly conforming
utter, sheer
barren, desolate; bare
harsh, blunt
e.g. stark discipline
stark simplicity / a stark white room
the start realities of death
statuary
sculptor
the art of making statues
a collection of statues
e.g. a fine example of late Renaissance statuary
statute
a law enacted by the legislative branch of a government
a permanent rule
statutory
- statute
e. g. a statutory age limit
steadfast
firmly fixed in place; immovable
not subject to change
firm in belief, determination, or adherence; loyal
e.g. steadfast in his support for the policies
stem
to check or go counter to (something adverse)
stench
stink
a characteristic repugnant quality
stencil
a piece of paper, metal, etc., that has a design, letter, etc., cut out of it
something that is produced by means of a stencil
e.g. The walls of the living room had a delicate vine stencil drawn on them.
stentorian
extremely loud
stickler
one who insists on exactness or completeness in the observance of something
something that baffles or puzzles; poser, sticker
e.g. a stickler for rules
stifle
suffocate
smother, muffle
to withhold from circulation or expression
deter, discourage
e.g. stifle a cry / stifle anger
stilted
pompous, lofty
formal, stiff
e.g. The conversation was somewhat stilted as we didn’t seem to share any interests.
a stilted letter of apology that was written and accepted with equal measures of insincerity
stint
to be sparing or frugal
to restrict with respect to a share or allowance
e.g. not stinting with their praise
stint herself of luxuries
stipple
to engrave by means of dots and flicks to apply (as paint) by repeated small touches speckle, fleck
stipulate
to specify as a condition or requirement
e.g. The cease-fire was stipulated by the treaty.
stock
commonly used or brought forward; standard
e.g. the stock answer
stockade
a line of stout posts set firmly to form a defense
an enclosure
e.g. prisoners of war confined in a stockade
stocky
compact, sturdy, and relatively thick in build
stodgy
boring, dull
extremely old-fashioned; hidebound
e.g. The sitcom was offbeat and interesting in its first season, but has since become predictable and stodgy.
received a pompously Victorian letter from his stodgy father
stonewall
to be uncooperative, obstructive, or evasive
e.g. stonewall for time
stonewall the media
stout
strong of character
physically or materially strong
forceful; also, violent
e.g. a stout heart
a stout defense
stowaway
someone who hides on a ship, airplane, etc., in order to travel without paying or being seen
strand
to leave in a strange or an unfavorable place especially without funds or means to depart
stratum
one of usually many layers of a substance (such as a rock)
a level of society made up of people of the same rank or position
e.g. deep stratum of skin
The lower strata of society have been hit especially hard by this economic downturn.
The level of writing in that pop novel is several strata beneath that of serious fiction.
strew
to spread by scattering
disseminate
e.g. strewing the highways with litter
strident
characterized by harsh, insistent, and discordant sound
commanding attention by a loud or obtrusive quality
e.g. a strident voice / strident slogans
strife
bitter sometimes violent conflict or dissension
exertion or contention for superiority
e.g. In order to avoid family strife
bitter strife between the two political factions
