GRE FLASHCARDS (S)
Terms
undefined, object
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- saccharine
- cloyingly sweet
- sacrosanct
- most sacred; inviolable
- saga
- Scandinavian myth; any legend
- sagacious
- perceptive; shrewd; having insight
- sage
- * person celebrated for wisdom
- salacious
- lascivious; lustful
- sallow
- yellowish; sickly in color
- salubrious
- * healthful
- salutary
- tending to improve
- sanctimonious
- displaying ostentatious or hypocritical devoutness
- sanction
- * approve; ratify
- sanguinary
- bloody
- sanguine
- cheerful; hopeful
- sap
- diminish; undermine
- sardonic
- disdainful; sarcastic; cynical
- sartorial
- pertaining to tailors
- sate
- satisfy to the full; cloy
- satiate
- * satisfy fully
- saturate
- * soak thoroughly
- saturnine
- gloomy
- satyr
- half-human, half-bestial being in the court of Dionysus, portrayed as wanton and cunning
- savant
- scholar
- savor
- * enjoy; have a distinctive flavor, smell, or quality
- scabbard
- case for a sword blade; sheath
- scad
- a great quantity
- scaffold
- temporary platform for workers; bracing framework; platform for execution
- scenario
- plot outline; screenplay; opera libretto
- schematic
- relating to an outline or diagram; using a system of symbols
- scintilla
- shred; least bit
- scintillate
- sparkle; flash
- scotch
- stamp out; thwart; hinder
- scourge
- lash; whip; severe punishment
- scrupule
- fret about; hesitate, for ethical reasons
- scuffle
- struggle confusedly; move off in a confused hurry
- scurrilous
- obscene; indecent
- scurvy
- despicable; contemptible
- scuttle
- sink
- seamy
- sordid; unwholesome
- secession
- withdrawal
- secrete
- * hide away or cache; produce and release a substance into an organism
- sedate
- composed; grave
- sedition
- resistance to authority; insubordination
- sedulous
- diligent
- seedy
- run-down; decrepit; disreputable
- seemly
- proper; appropriate
- seine
- net for catching fish
- semblance
- outward appearance; guise
- seminal
- germinal; influencing future developments; related to seed or semen
- seminary
- school for training future ministers; secondary school, especially for young women
- sensuous
- pertaining to the physical senses; operating through the senses
- sententious
- terse; concise; aphoristic
- sentient
- capable of sensation; aware; sensitive
- sentinel
- sentry; lookout
- septic
- putrid; producing putrefaction
- sepulcher
- tomb
- sere
- parched; dry
- serendipity
- gift for finding valuable or desirable things by accident; accidental good fortune or luck
- serpentine
- winding; twisting
- sextant
- navigation tool used to determine a ship's latitude and longitude
- sham
- pretend
- shambles
- wreck; mess
- shard
- * fragment, generally of pottery
- sheaf
- bundle of stalks of grain; any bundle of things tied together
- sheathe
- place into a case
- shirk
- avoid (responsibility, work, etc.); malinger
- shunt
- turn aside; divert; sidetrack
- shyster
- lawyer using questionable methods
- sibylline
- prophetic; oracular
- sidereal
- relating to the stars
- simian
- monkeylike
- simper
- smirk; smile affectedly
- sinecure
- well-paid position with little responsibility
- sinewy
- tough; strong and firm
- sinuous
- winding; bending in and out; not morally honest
- skeptic
- * doubter; person who suspends judgment until having examined the evidence supporting a point of view
- skiff
- small, light sailboat or rowboat
- skinflint
- stingy person; miser
- skirmish
- minor fight
- skittish
- lively; frisky
- skulduggery
- dishonest behaviour
- skulk
- move furtively and secretly
- slacken
- slow up; loosen
- slag
- residue from smelting metal; dross; waste matter
- slake
- quench; sate
- slapdash
- haphazard; careless; sloppy
- sleazy
- flimsy; unsubstantial
- sleeper
- something originally of little value or importance that in time becomes very valuable
- sleight
- dexterity
- slight
- insult to one's dignity; snub
- slipshod
- untidy or slovenly; shabby
- slothful
- lazy
- slough
- cast off
- slovenly
- untidy; careless in work habits
- sluggard
- lazy person
- sluice
- artificial channel for directing or controlling the flow of water
- smattering
- slight knowledge
- smolder
- burn without flame; be liable to break out at any moment
- snivel
- run at the nose; snuffle; whine
- sobriety
- moderation (especially regarding indulgence in alcohol); seriousness
- sodden
- soaked; dull, as if from drink
- sojourn
- temporary stay
- solace
- comfort in trouble
- solder
- repair or make whole by using a metal alloy
- solecism
- construction that is flagrantly incorrect gramatically
- solicitous
- * worried, concerned
- solitude
- state of being alone seclusion
- solstice
- point at which the sun is farthest from the equator
- solvent
- able to pay all debts
- somnambulist
- sleepwalker
- somnolent
- half asleep
- sonorous
- resonant
- sophist
- teacher of philosophy; quibbler; employer of fallacious reasoning
- sophistry
- seemingly plausible but fallacious reasoning
- soporific
- * sleep-causing; marked by sleepiness
- spangle
- small metallic piece sewn to clothing for ornamentation
- spartan
- lacking luxury and comfort; sternly disciplined
- spawn
- lay eggs
- specious
- * seemingly reasonable but incorrect; misleading (often intentionally)
- spectral
- ghostly
- spectrum
- * colored band produced when a beam of light passes through a prism
- spendthrift
- someone who wastes money
- sphinx-like
- enigmatic; mysterious
- splice
- fasten together; unite
- spoonerism
- accidental transposition of sounds in successive words
- sporadic
- * occurring irregularly
- sportive
- playful
- spruce
- neat and trim
- spry
- vigorously active; nimble
- spurn
- reject; scorn
- squat
- stocky; short and thick
- staid
- sober; sedate
- stalwart
- strong, brawny; steadfast
- stanch
- check flow of blood
- statute
- law enacted by legislature
- statutory
- created by statute or legislative action
- steadfast
- loyal; unswerving
- stealth
- slyness; sneakiness; secretiveness
- stellar
- pertaining to the stars
- stem
- check the flow
- stentorian
- extremely loud
- stigma
- * token of disgrace; brand
- stilted
- bombastic; stiffly pompous
- stint
- supply; allotted amount; assigned portion of work
- stipend
- pay for services
- stipple
- paint or draw with dots
- stipulate
- * make express conditions; specify
- stock
- typical; standard; kept regularly in supply
- stockade
- wooden enclosure or pen; fixed line of posts used as defensive barrier
- stoic
- impassive; unmoved by joy or grief
- stoke
- stir up a fire; feed plentifully
- stolid
- * dull; impassive
- stratagem
- clever trick; deceptive scheme
- stratum
- layer of earth's surface; layer of society
- strew
- spread randomly; sprinkle; scatter
- striated
- * marked with parallel bands; grooved
- stricture
- critical comments; severe and adverse criticism
- strident
- loud and harsh; insistent
- strut
- * supporting bar
- studied
- unspontanous; deliberate; thoughtful
- stultify
- cause to appear or become stupid or inconsistent; frustrate or hinder
- stygian
- gloomy; hellish; deathly
- stymie
- present an obstacle; stump
- subaltern
- subordinate
- sublimate
- refine; purify
- suborn
- persuade to act unlawfully (especially to commit perjury)
- subpoena
- * writ summoning a witness to appear
- subside
- * settle down; descend; grow quiet
- subsidiary
- subordinate
- substantiate
- * establish evidence; verify; support
- substantive
- essential; pertaining to the stubstance
- subterfuge
- pretense; evasion
- subtlety
- perceptiveness; ingenuity; delicacy
- succor
- aid; assist; comfort
- suffuse
- spread over
- sultry
- sweltering
- sumptuous
- lavish; rich
- sunder
- separate; part
- sundry
- various; several
- superannuated
- retired or disqualified because of age
- supercilious
- arrogant; condescending; patronizing
- supererogatory
- superfluous; more than needed or demanded
- superfluous
- excessive; overabundant; unnecessary
- supernumerary
- person or thing in excess of what is necessary; extra
- supersede
- * cause to be set aside; replace; make obsolete
- supine
- lying on back
- supplant
- replace; usurp
- supple
- flexible; pliant
- suppliant
- entreating; beseeching
- supplicate
- petition humbly; pray to grant a favor
- supposition
- * hypothesis; surmise
- surfeit
- satiate; stuff; indulge to excess in anything
- surmise
- guess
- surreptitious
- secret; furtive; sneaky; hidden
- supposititious
- assumed; counterfeit; hypothetical
- sustain
- experience; support; nourish
- swarthy
- dark; disky
- swathe
- wrap around; bandage
- swelter
- be oppressed by heat
- sybarite
- lover of luxury
- syllogism
- logical formula consisting of a major premise, a minor premise and a conclusion; deceptive or specious argument
- sylvan
- pertaining to the woods; rustic
- symbiosis
- interdependent relationship (between groups, species), often mutually beneficial
- synoptic
- providing a general overview