Word List 43 Flashcards
Sententious (adj)
preaching and moralising; pithy
Septic (adj)
putrid; producing putrefaction
The hospital was in a filthy state that we were afraid that many of the patients would suffer from septic poisoning
Sequester (v)
isolate; retire from public life; segregate; seclude
The judge decided to sequester the jury
Servile (adj)
slavish; cringing
Constantly fawning on his employer, humble Uriah Heep was a servile creature
Shirk (v)
avoid
Shoddy (adj)
sham; not genuine; inferior
Shrewd (adj)
clever; astute
A shrewd investor, she took clever advantage of the fluctuations of the stock market
Sinecure (n)
well paid position with little responsibility
My job is no sinecure, I work long hours and have much responsibility
Skimp (v)
provide scantily; live very economically
Skinflint (n)
stingy person; miser
Scrooge was an ungenerous old skinflint until he reformed his ways and became a notable philanthropist
Skittish (adj)
lively; frisky
She is as skittish as a kitten playing with a piece of string
Skulduggery (v)
dishonest behaviour
The investigation into municipal corruption turned up new instances of skulduggery daily
Skulk (v)
move furtively and secretly
He skulked through the less fashionable sections of the city in order to avoid meeting any of his former friends
Slapdash (adj)
haphazard; careless; sloppy
From the number of typos int he report, it’s clear that Mario proofread the report in a remarkably slapdash fashion
Slipshod (adj)
untidy or slovenly; shabby
As a master craftsmen, the carpenter prided himself on never doing slipshod work
