Word List 47 Flashcards
sanatorium
an establishment that provides therapy combined with a regimen for treatment or rehabilitation
an establishment for the treatment of the chronically ill
sangfroid
self-possession or imperturbability especially under strain
e.g. The professional gambler seemed to take both his wins and his losses with remarkable sangfroid.
sapling
a young tree
youth
sardonic
disdainfully or skeptically humorous; derisively mocking
e.g. a sardonic little jab that made her visitor quiet and subdued for the rest of the night
sate
to cloy with overabundance; glut to appease (as a thirst) by indulging to the full
e.g. sate the appetite of vampire-hungry fans
scabrous
difficult, knotty
rough to touch
dealing with suggestive, indecent, or scandalous themes; salacious; also, squalid
e.g. a scabrous problem
scabrous paint/skin
a movie with scabrous humor
scad
(informal) a great number or quantity
paucity
smallness of number; fewness
smallness of quantity; dearth
e.g. a paucity of useful answers to the problem of traffic congestion at rush hour
scamper
to run nimbly and usually playfully about
scarp
a line of cliffs produced by faulting or erosion
a low steep slope along a beach caused by wave erosion
scintillate
to emit sparks; spark
to throw off as a spark or as sparkling flashes
e.g. star scintillating in the sky
scintillate witticisms
scission
a division or split in a group or union; schism
e.g. fears that the scission of the labor union will compromise the workers’ bargaining power
scour
to rub or scrub
to clean by purging; purge
to move about quickly especially in search
e.g. They scoured the grounds for the missing keys.
screed
a lengthy discourse
e.g. In her screed against the recording industry, she blamed her producer for ruining her career.
scrumptious
delightful, excellent; especially, delicious
scud
to move or run swiftly especially as if driven forward
rush
loose vapory clouds driven swiftly by the wind
a slight sudden shower
a gust of wind
e.g. clouds scudding across the sky
A cold scud sent leaves skittering down from the trees.
scutter
scurry, scamper
seafaring
the use of the sea for travel or transportation
seclude
to remove or separate from intercourse or outside influence; isolate
shut off, screen
e.g. seclude themselves from the turmoil of secular affairs
sedition
incitement of resistance to or insurrection against lawful authority
e.g. The leaders of the group have been arrested and charged with sedition.
seditious
- sedition
e. g. Several dissidents were jailed for leading protests that the government branded as seditious.
senile
of, relating to, exhibiting, or characteristic of old age; especially, exhibiting a loss of cognitive abilities associated with old age
sententious
given to or abounding in aphoristic expression
given to or abounding in excessive moralizing
terse, aphoristic, or moralistic in expression; pithy, epigrammatic
e.g. a smug and sententious writer
a sententious crank who has written countless letters to the editor about the decline in family values
sequacious
intellectually servile; (of a person) lacking independence or originality of thought
e.g. The human race is gregarious and sequacious, rather than individual and adventurous.
sequela
an aftereffect of a disease, condition, or injury
a secondary result
serendipity
the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for; also, an instance of this
e.g. They found each other by pure serendipity.
sermonize
to compose or deliver a sermon
to speak didactically or dogmatically
e.g. a teacher who can talk to her students about serious subjects without sermonizing