GRE vocabulary t 2
Terms
undefined, object
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- thermal
- pertaining to heat
- therapeutic
- curative. Now better known for its racetrack, Sartoga Springs first gained attention for the therapeutic qualities of its famous 'healing waters'.
- theoretical
- not practical or applied; hypotehtical. Bob was better at applied engineering and computer programming than he was at theoretical hysics and math. While I can stil think of some theoretical objections to your plan, you've convinced me of its basic soundness.
- Theocracy
- government run by religious leaders. eg. Iraq. Though some Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower favored the establishment of a theocracy in New England, many of their fellow voyager preferred a nonreligious form of government.
- thematic
- relating to a unifying motif or idea. Those who think of Moby Dick as a simple adventure story about whaling miss its underlying thematci import.
- tether
- tie with a rope. Before we went to sleep, we tethered the horses to prevent their wandering off during the night.
- testy
- irritable; short-tempered. My advice is to avoid discussing this problem with her today as she is rather testy and may shout at you.
- testator
- maker of a will. The attorney called in his secretary and his partner to witness the signature of the testator.
- tesselated
- inlaid; mosaic. I recall seeing a table with a tesselated top of bits of stone and glass in a very interesting pattern.
- tertiary
- third. He is so thorough that he analyzes tertiary causes where other writers are content with primary and secondary reasons.
- terse
- concise; abrupt; pithy. There is a fine line between speech that is terse and to the point and speech that is too abrupt.
- terrestrial
- on or relating to the earth. we have been able to explore the terrestrail regions much more thoroughly than the aquatic or celestial regions.
- terminus
- last stop of railroad. After we reached the railroad terminus, we continued our journey into the wilderness on saddle horses.
- terminology
- terms used in a science or art. The special terminology developed by some authorities in the field has done more to confuse laypersons than to enlighten them.
- tepid
- lukewar,. To avoid scalding the baby, make sure the bath water is tepid, not hot.
- tenure
- holding of an office; time during which such an office is held. A special recall election put an end to Gray Davis's tenure in office as governor of California.
- tenuous
- thin, rare; slim. The allegiance of our allies is held by such tenuous ties that we have little hope they will remain loyal.
- tentative
- hesitatnt; not fully worked out or developed; experiental; not deiniteor positive. Unsure of his welcome at the Christmas party, Scrooge took a tentative step into his nephew's drawing room.
- tensile
- capable of being stretched. Mountain climbers must know the tensile strength of their ropes.
- tenet
- doctrine; dogma. The agnostic did not accept th tenets of their faith.
- tender
- offer expand. Although no formal charges had been made against him, in the wake of the recent scandal the mayor felt he should tender his resignation.
- tendentious
- having an aim; biased; designed to further a cause. The editorials in this periodical; are tendentious rather than truth-seeking.
- tenacious
- holding fast. I had to struffle to break his tenacious hold on my arm.
- tenacity
- firmness; persistence. Jean Valijean could not believe the tenacity of Inspector Javert. Here all Valjean had done was to steal a loaf of bread, and the inspector had pursued him doggedly for 20 years!
- temporize
- act evasively to gain time; avoid committing oneself. Ordered by King John to drive Robin Hood out of Sherwood Forest, the sheriff temporized, hoping to put off any confrontation with the outlaw band.
- tempo
- speed of music. I find the band's tempo too slow for such a lively dance.
- tempestuous
- stormy; impassioned; violent. Racketthrowing tennis star John McEnroe was famed for his displays of tempestuous temperament.
- temperate
- restrained; self-controlled; moderate in respect to temperature. Try to be temperate in your eating this holiday season; if you control your appetite, you won't gain too much weight. Goldilocks found Ssan Francisco's temperate climate neither too hot nor too cold but just right.
- temperament
- characteristic frame of mind; disposition; emotional exceess. Although the twins look alike, they differ markedly in temperament: tod is calm, but Rod is excitable.
- temper
- moderate; tone down or restrain; toughen(steel). Not even her supervisor's grumpiness could temper Nacy's enthusiasm for her new job.
- temerity
- boldness; rashness. Do you have the termerity to argue with me?
- teetotalism
- practice of abstaining totally from alcoholic drinks. Though the doctor warned Bert to cut down his booze intake, she didn't insist that he practice teetotalism.
- tedium
- boredom; weariness. We hope this new Game Boy will help you to overcome the tedium of your stay in the hospital.
- taxonomist
- specialist in classifying (animals, etc) Dental patterns often enable the taxonomist to distinguish members of tone rodents species from those of another.
- tawdry
- cheap and gaudy. He won a ew tawdry trinkets at Coney Island.
- tautological
- needlessly repetitious. In the sentence "It was visible to the eye,' the phrase, 'to the eye' is tautological.
- taut
- tight; ready. The captain maintained that he ran a taut ship.
- tatty
- worn and shabby bedraggled. Cinderella's step sneered at her in her frayed apron and tatty old gown.
- taper
- candle. she lit the taper on te windowsill.
- tantrum
- fit of petulance; caprice. The chid learned that he could have almost anything if he went into tantrums.
- tantamount
- equivalent in effect or value. Because so few Southern blacks could afford to pay the poll tax, the imposition of this tax on prospective voters was tantamount to disenfrancisement for black voters.
- tantalize
- tease; tortue with disappointment. Tom lvoed to tantalize his younger brother with candy; he knew the boy was forbidden to have it.
- tanner
- person who turns animal hides into leather Using a solution of tanbark, the tanner treated the cowhide, transforming it into supple leather.
- tangible
- able to be touched; rea; palable. Although Tom did not own a house, he had several tangible assets - a car, a television, a PC-that he oculd sell if he needed cash.
- tangential
- peripheral; only slightly connected; digressing. Despite Clarks's attempts to distract her with tangential rearks, Lois kept on coming back to her main question: why couldn't he come out to dinner with Superman and her?
- taint
- contaminate; cause to lose purity; modifty with a trace of something bad. One speck of dirt on your utensils may contain enough germs to taint an entire batch of preserves.
- tacile
- pertaining to the organs or sense of touch. His callused hands had lost their tactile sensitivity.
- taciturn
- habitually silent; talking little. The stereotypical cowboy is a taciturn soul, answering lengthy questions with a 'yep' or 'nope'.
- tacit
- understood; not put into words. We have a tacit agreement based on only a handshake.
- synthetic
- artificial; resulting from synthesis. During the twentieth century, many synthetic products have replaced their natual counterparts.
- synthesis
- combining parts into a whole. now that we have succeeded in isolating this drug, our next problem is to plan its synthesis in the laboratory.
- synoptic
- providing a general oveerview; summary. The professor turned to the latest issue of Dissertation Abstracts for a synoptic account of what was new in the field.
- synchronous
- similarly timed; simultaneous with. We have many examples of scientists in different parts of the world who have madesynchronous discoveries.
- symmetry
- arrangement of parts so that balance is obtained; congruity. By definition, something lopsided lacks symmetry, symmetrical.
- symbiosis
- interdependent relationship (between group, species) often mutually beneficial. Both the crocodile bird and the crocodile derives nourishment; the crocodile, meanwhile, derives proper dental hygiene.
- sylvan
- pertaining to the woods; rustic. His paintings of nymphs in sylvan backgrounds were criticized as oversentimental.
- syllogism
- logical formula consisting of a major premise, a minor premise and a conclusion; deceptive or specious argument. There must be a fallacy in this syllogism; I cannot accept its conclusion.
- sycophant
- servile flatterer; bootlicker; yes man. Fed up wih the toadies and brownnosers who made up his entourage, the star cried, ' Get out, all of you! I'm sick of sycophants! (Lying sycophants) (suck up!)
- swindler
- cheat. She was gullible and trusting, an easy for the first swindler who came along. (ME)
- swill
- drink greedily. Singing 'yo, ho, ho, and a bottle of rum'. Long John Silver and his fellow pirates swilled their grog.
- swerve
- deviate; turn aside sharply. The car swerved wildly as the driver struggled to regain control of the wheel.
- swathe
- wrap around; bandage. When I visited him in the hospital, I found him swathed in bandages.
- swarthy
- dark, dusky. Despite the stereotype, not all Italians are swarthy; many are fair and blond.
- suture
- stitches sewn to hold the cut edges of a wound or incision; material used in sewing. We will remove the sutures as soon as the wound heals
- sustenance
- means of support, food, mourishment. In the tropics, the natives find sustenance easy to obtain because of all the fruit trees.
- sustain
- experience; support; nourish. He sustained such a severe injury that the doctors feared he would be unable to work to sustain his growing family.
- susceptible
- impressionable; easily influenced; having little resistance, as to a disease; receptive to. Said the patent medicine man to his very susceptible customer; "Buy this new miracle drug, and you will no longer be susceptible to the common cold," susceptibility.
- surveillance
- watching; guarding. The FBI kept the house under constant surveillance in the hope of capturing all the criminals at one time.
- surrogate
- substitute. For a fatherless child, a male teacher may become a father surrogate
- surreptitious
- secret; furtive; sneaky; hidden. Hoping to discover where his mon had hidden the Christmas present, Timmy took a surreptitious peek into the master bedroom closet.
- surpass
- exceed. Her SAT scores surpassed our expectations.
- surmount
- overcome. I know you can surmount any difficulties that may stand in the way of your getting an education.
- surmise
- guess. I surmise that he will be late for this meeting.
- surly
- rude, cross. Because of his surly attitude many people avoided his company
- surfeit
- satiate; stuff; indulge to excess in anything. Every Thanksgiving we are surfeited with an over abundance of holiday treats.
- suppress
- stifle; overwhelm; subdue; inhibit. Too polite to laugh in anyone's face, Roy did his best to suppress his amusement at Ed's inane remark
- supposition
- assumed; counterfeit; hypothetical. I find no similarity between your suppositious illustration and the problem we are facing.
- supplilcate
- petition humbly; pray to grant a favor. We supplicate your Majesty to grant him amnesty.
- suppliant
- entreating; beseeching. Unable to resist the dog's suppliant whimpering, he gave it some food.
- supple
- flexible; pliant. Years of yoga exercises made Grace's body supple.
- supplant
- replace; substitute, rebounce, usurp. Did the other oman actually supplant Princess Diana in Prince Charles's affections, or did Charles never love Diana at all? Bolingbroke later to be known as King Henry IB, fought to supplant his cousin, RIchard III, as King of England.
- supine
- lying on back. The defeated pugilist lay supine on the canvas.
- supersede
- cause to be set aside; replace; make obsolete. BUlk mailing postal regulation 326D supersedes bulk mailing postal regulation
- supernumerary
- person or thing in excess of what is necessary; extra. His first appearance on the stage was as a supermumerary in a Shakespearean tragedy.
- superimpose
- place over something else. Your attempt to superimpose another agency in this filed will merely increase the bureacuratic nature of our goverment.
- superfluous
- excessive; overabundant, unnecessary. Please try not to include so many superfluous details in your report; just give me the bare facts
- superficial
- trivial; shallow. Since your erport gave only a superficial analysis of the problem, I cannot give you more than a passing grade.
- supererogatory
- superfluous; more than needed or demanded. We have more than enough witnesses to corroborate your statement; to present any more would be supererogatory.
- supercillious
- arrogant; condescending; patronizing. The supercillious headwaiter sneered at custoners who he thought did not fit the image of a restautant catering to an ultrafashionable crowd
- superannuated
- retired or disqualified because of age. Don't call me superannuated; I can still perform a good day's work!
- sundry
- various; several. My suspicions
- sunder
- separate; part. Northern and southern Ireland are politically and religiously sundered
- sumptuous
- lavish, rich. I cannot recall when I have had such a sumptuous Thanksgiving feast.
- summation
- act of finding the total; summary. In his summation, the lawyer emphasized the testimony given by the two witnesses.
- sultry
- sweltering. He could not adjust himself to the sultry climate of the tropics.
- sully
- tarnish, soil. He felt that it was beneath his dignity to sully his hands in such nemial labor.
- suffuse
- spread over. A blush suffsued her cheeks when we teased her about her love affair.
- suffragist
- advocate of voting rights (for women). In recognition of her efforts to win the vote for women. Congress authorized coining a silver dollar honoring the suffragist Susan B.
- succumb
- yield; give in; die. I succumb to temptation whenever it comes my way.
- succulent
- juicy; full of richness. To some people, Florida citrus fruits are more succulent than those from California.
- succor
- aid; assist; comfort. If you believe that con man has come here to succor you in your hour of need, you're even a bigger sucher than I thought.
- succinct
- brief; terse; compact. Don't bore your audience with excess verbiage; be succinct
- subversive
- tending to overthrow; destructive. At first glance, the motion that Styrofoam cups may actually be more ecologically sound than paper cups strikes most environmentalists as subversive
- subtlety
- peceptiveness; ingenuity; delicacy. Never obvious, she expressed herself with such subtlety that her remarks went right over the heads of most of her audience.
- subterfuge
- pretense; evasion. As soon as we realized that you had won our support by a subterfuge, we withdrew our endorsemen of your candidacy.
- subsume
- include, encompass. Does the general theory of relativity contradict Newtonian physics. or is Newton's law of gravity subsumed into Einstein's larger scheme?
- substantive
- essential, pertaining to the substance. Although the delegates were aware of the importance of the broblem, they could not agree on the substantive issues.
- substantiate
- establish by evidence; verify; support. These endorsements from satisfied customers substantiate our claim that Barron's How to Prepare for the GrRe's the best GrRe prep book on the market
- substantial
- ample, solid, essential or fundamental. The generous scholarship represented a substantial sum of money. If you don't eat a more substantial dinner, you'll be hungry forever.
- subsistence
- existence; means of support; livelihood. In those days of inflated prices, my salary provided a mere subsistence.
- subsidiary
- subordinate; secondary. This information may be used as subsidiary evidence but is not sufficient by itself to prove your argument.
- subside
- settle down; descend; grow quiet. The doctor assured us thta the fever would eventually subside.
- subservient
- behaving like a slave; servile; obsequious. She was proud and dignified; she refused to be subservient to anyone.
- subsequent
- following; later. In subsequent lessons, we shall take up more difficult problems.
- subpoena
- writ summoning a witness to appear. The prosecutor's office was ready to serve a subpoena on the reluctant witness.
- suborn
- persuade to act unlawfully (especially to commit perjury). In the Godfather, the mobsters used bribery and threats to suborn the witnesses against Don Michale Corleone.
- subordinate
- occupying a lower rank; inferior; submissive. BIshop Proudie's wife expected the subordinate clergy to behave with great deference to the wife of their superior.
- submissive
- yield, timid. When he refused to permit Elizabeth to marry her poet, Mr. Barret expected her to be properly submissive, instead, she eloped with the guy.
- subliminal
- below the threshold. We may not be aware of the subliminal influences that affect our thinking.
- sublime
- exalted; noble and uplifting; utter. Lucy was in awe of Desi's sublime musicianship, qhile he was in awe of her sublime naivete.
- sublimate
- refine, purify. We must strive to sublimate these desires and emotions into wiorthwhile activities.
- subjugate
- conquer; bring under control. It is not our aim to subjugate our foe; we are interested only in establishing peaceful relations.
- subjective
- occuring or taking place within the mind; unreal. (eg. social theory). Michel foucault, there's no universal truth.
- subdued
- less intense; quieter. Bob the subdued lighting at the restaurant because he thought it was romantic. I just thought the place was dimly lit.
- subaltern
- subordinate. The captain treated his subalterns as though they were children rtaher than commissioned officers.
- suavity
- urbanity; polish. He is particularly good in roles that require suavity and sophistication
- stymie
- present an obstable; stump. The detective was stymied by the contradictory evidence in the robbery investigation.
- stygian
- gloomy; hellish; deathly. Shielding the flickering candle from any threatening draft, Tom and Becky descended into the stygian darkness of the underground cavern. Stygian derives from Styx, the chief river in the ubsterranean land of the dead.
- stupor
- state of apathy; daze; lack of awareness. In his stupor, the addict was unaware of the events taking place around him.
- stupefy
- make numb, stun, amaze. Disapproving of drugs in genera;, Laura refused to take sleeping pills or any other medicine that might stupefy her.
- stultify
- cause to appear or become stupid or inconsistent; frustrate or hinder. His long hours in the blacking factory left young Dickets numb and incurious, as if her menial labor had stultified his mind.
- studied
- unspontaneous; delibeate; thougthful. Given Jill's previous slights, Jack felt that the omission of his name from the guest list was a studied insult.
- strut
- pompous walk. his strut as he marched about the parade ground revealed him for what he was: a pompous buffoon.
- stringent
- binding, rigid. I think these regulations are too stringent.
- strident
- loud and harsh; insistent. we could barely hear the speaker over the strident cries of the hecklers.
- stricture
- critical comments; severe and adverse criticism. His strictures on the author's style are prejudiced and unwarraned.
- striated
- marked with parallel bands; grooved. The glacier left many striated rocks.
- strew
- spread randomly; springle; scatter. Preceding the bride to the altar, the flower girl will strew rose petals along the aisle.
- stratum
- layer of earth's surface; layer of society. Unless we aleviate conditions in the lowest stratum of our society, we may expect grumbling and revolt.
- stratified
- divided into classes; arranged into strata. As the economic gap between the rich and the poor increasd, Roman society grew increasingly stratified.
- stratagem
- clever, trick; deceptive scheme. What a gem of a strategem! Watson, I have the perfect plan to trick Moriarty into revealing himself.
- stolid
- dull; impassive. The earthquake shattered Stuart's usual stolid demeanor; trembling, he crouched on the no longer stable ground.
- stoke
- stir up a fire; feed plentifully. As a Scout, Marisa learned how to light a fire, how to stoke it if it started to die down, and how to extinguish it completely.
- stoic
- impassive; unmoved by joy or grief. I wasn't particularly stoic when I had my flu shot; I swuealed like a stuck pig.
- stodgy
- stuffy; boringly conservative. For a young person, Winston seems remarkably stodgy; you'd expect someone his age to have a little more life.
- stockade
- wooden enclosure or pen; fixed line of posts used as defensive barrier. The indians are coming! Quick! Round up the horses and drive them into the stockade
- stock
- typical, standard; kept regularly in supply. Victorian melodramas portrayed stock characters-the rich but wiced villain, the sweet young ingenue, the poor but honest young man-in exaggerated situations. Although the stationery store kept only stock sizes of paper on hand, the staff would special--order any items not regularly in stock.
- stipulate
- make express condtions, specify. Before agreeing to reduce American military forces in Europe, the president stipulated that NATO teams be allowed to inspect Russian bases.
- stipple
- paint or draw with dos. Seurat carefully stippled dabs of pure color on the canvas, juxtaposing dots of blue and yellow that the viewer's eye would interpret as greend.
- stipend
- pay for services. There is a nominal stipend for this position.
- stint
- supply; allotted amount; assigned portion of work. She performed her daily stint cheerfully and willingly.
- stilted
- bombastic; stiffly pompous. His stilted rhetoric did not impress the college audience; they were immune to bombastic utterances.
- stigma
- token of disgrace; brand. I do not attach any stigma to the fcat that you were accused of this crime; the factthat you were acquitted clears you completely.
- stifle
- suppress; extinguish; inhibit. Halfway through the boring lecture, Laura gave up trying to stifle her yawns.
- stickler
- perfectionist; person who insists things be exactly right. The internal Revenue Service agent was a stickler for accurary; no approximations or rough estimates would satisfy him.
- stereotype
- fixed and unvaring representation; standardized mental picture, often reflecting prejudice.
- stem from
- arise from. Milton's probnlems in school stemmed from his poor study habits.
- stem
- check the flow. The paramedic used a tourniquet to stem the bleeding from the slashed artery.
- stellar
- pertaining to the stars. He was the stellar attraction of the entire performance.
- steep
- soak; saturate. Be sure to steep the fabric in th dye bath for the full time prescribed.
- stealth
- slyness, sneakiness; secretiveness. Fearing detection by the sentries on duty, the scout inched his way toward the enmy camp with great stealth.
- steadfast
- loyal; unswerving. John was steadfast in his affections, faithfully waiting his gf to return.
- statutory
- created by statute or legilative action. The judicial courts review and try statutory crimes.
- statue
- law enacted by the legislature. The statue of limitations sets limits on how long you have to take legal action in specific cases.
- static
- unchanging; lacking development. Why do you watch chess on TV? I like watching a game with action, not something static where nothign seems to be going on.
- stanza
- division of a poem. Do you know the last stanza of "The Star spangled banner?"
- stanch
- check flow of blood. It is imperative that we stanch the gushing wound before we attend to the other injuries.
- stamina
- strength; staying power. I doubt that she has the stamina to run the full distance of the marathon race.
- stalwart
- strong, brawny; steadfast. His consistent support of the party has proved that he is a stalwart and loyal member.
- stalemate
- deadlock. Negotiations between the union and the employers have reached a stalemate; neither side is willing to budge from previously stated positions.
- staid
- sober; sedate. Her conduct during the funeral ceremony was staid and solemn
- stagnant
- motionless; stale; dull. Mosquitoes commonly breed in ponds of stagnan water. Mike's career was stagnant; it wasn't going anywhere, and neither was he!
- staccato
- played in an abrupt manner; marked by abrpt, sharp sound. His staccato speech reminded on of the sound of a a machine gun.
- squat
- stocky; short and thick. Tolkien's jobbits are somewhat squat, studrdy little creatures, fond of good ale, good music and good food.
- squalor
- filth, degradation; dirty, neglected state. Rusted, broken-down cars in the yard, trash piled on the porch, tar paper peeling from the roof- the shack was the picture of squalor.
- squabble
- minor quarrel; bickering. Children invariably get involved in petty squabbles' wise [arents know when to interview and when to let the children work things out on their own.
- spurious
- false, counterfeit, forged; illogical. The hero of JOnathn Gash's mystery novels is an antique dealer who gives the reader advice on how to tell spurious antiques from the real thing.
- spry
- vigorous, active, nimbele. She was eightly years old, yet still spry, and alert.
- spruce
- neat and trim. Every button buttoned, tie firmly in place, young Alex Keaton looked spruce and tid for his job interview at the bank
- sportive
- playful. Such a sportive attitude is suprising in a person as serious as you usually are.
- sporadic
- occurring irregularly. Although you can still hear sporadic outbursts of laughter and singing outside, the big Halloween parade has passed; the party's over till next year.
- spoonerism
- accidental transposition of sounds in successive words. When the radio announcer introduced the President as Hoobert Herver, he was guilty of a spoonerism.
- spontaneity
- lack of premediation; naturalness; freedom from constraint. The cast overrehearsed the play so much that the eventual performance lacked any spontaneity
- splice
- fasten together, unite. Before you splice two strips of tape together, be sure to line them up evenly.
- sphinx-like
- enigmatic; mysterious. The Mona Lisa's sphinx-like expression has puzzled art lovers for centuries.
- spendthrift
- someone who wastes money. Easy access to credit encourages people to turn into spendthrifts who shop till they drop.
- spectrum
- colored band produced when a beam of light passes through a prism. The visible portion of te spectrum includes red at one end and violet at the other.
- spectral
- ghostly. We were frightened by the spectral glow that filled the room.
- specious
- seemingly reasonable but incorrect; misleading (often intentionally). To claim that, because houses and birds both have wings, both can fly is extremely specious reasoning.
- spawn
- lay eggs. Fish ladders had to be built in the dams to assist the salmon returning to spawn in their native streams.
- spatula
- broad-bladed instrucment used for spreading or mixing. The manufacturers of this frying pan recommend the use of a rubber spatula to avoid scratching the specially treated surface
- spatial
- relating to space. Certain exercises test your sense of spatial relations by asking you to identify two views of an object seen from different points in space.
- spate
- sudden flood. I am worried about the possibility of a spate if the rains do not diminish soon.
- spat
- squabble; minor dispute. What had started out as a mere spat escalated into a full-blown argument.
- spasmodic
- fitful; periodic. The spasmodic coughing in the auditorium annoyed the performers.
- spartan
- lacking luxury and comfort; stenly disciplined. Looking over the bare, unheated room with its hard cot, he wondered what he was doing in such spatan quarters. only his spartan sense of duty kept him at his post.
- sparse
- not thick; thinly scattered; scanty. No matter how carefully Albert combed his hair to make it appear as full as possible, it still looked sparse.
- spangle
- small metallic piece sewn to clothing for ornamentation. The thousands of spangles on her dress sparkled in the glare of the stage lights.
- sordid
- filthy; base; vile. The social wrker was angered by he sordid housing provided forthe homeless.
- soporific
- sleep-causing; marked by sleepiness. Professor Pringle's lectures were so soporific thateven he fell asleep in class.
- sophomoric
- immature; half-baked, like a sophomore. Even if you're only a freshman, it's no compliment to be told your humor is sophomoric. The humor in Dumb and Dumber is sophomoric at best.
- sophistry
- seemingly plausible but fallacious reasining. Instead of advancing valid arguments, he tried to overwhelm his audience with a flood of sophistries.
- sophisticated
- worldy wise and urbane; complex. When Sophy makes wisecracks, she thinks she sounds sophisticated, but instead she sounds sophomoric. The IBM laptop wiht the butterfly keyboard and the buit in FAX modern is a pretty sophisticad machine.
- sophist
- teacher of philosophy; quibbler; employer of fallacious reasoning. You are using all the devices of a sophist in trying to prove your case; your argument is specious
- sonorous
- resonant. HIs sonorous voice resounded through the hall.
- somnolent
- half asleep. The heavy meal and the overheated room made us all slmnolent and indifferent to the speaker.
- somnambullist
- sleepwalker. The most famous somnambulist in literature is Lady Macbeht; her monologue in the sleepwalking scene is one of the highlights of Shakespeare's play.
- somnabullist
- sleepwalker. The most famoous somnambulist in literature is Lady Macbeth; her monologue in the sleepwalking scene is one of the higlights of Shakespeare's play.
- somber
- gloomy; depressing. From teh doctor's grim expression, I could tell he had somber news.
- somatic
- pertaining to the boy; physical. Why do you ignore the spitirual aspects and emphasize only the corporeal and the somatic ones?
- solvent
- substance that dissolves another. Dip a cube of sugar into a cup of water; note how the water acts as a solvent, cauing the cube to break down.
- soluble
- able to be dissolved; abled to be worked out.Sugar is soluble in water; put a sugar cube in water and it will quickly disoolve. Because the test-maker had left out some necessary data, the problem was not soluble.
- solstice
- point at which the sun is farthest from the equator. The winter solstice usually occurs on December 21st.
- soliloquy
- talking to oneself. The soliloquy is a device used by the dramatist to reveal a character's innermost thoughts and emotions
- solicitous
- worried, concerned. The employer was very solicitous about the health of her employees as replacements were difficult to get.
- solicit
- request earnestly; seek. knowing she needed to have a solid majority for the budget to pass, the mayor telephoned all the members of the city council to solicit their votes.
- solemnity
- seriousness; gravity. The minister was concerned that nothing should disturb the solemnity of the marriage service.
- solecism
- construction that is flagrantly incorrect grammatically. I must give this paper a failing mark because it contrains many solecisms
- solder
- repair or make whole by using a metal alloy. The plumber fixed the leak in the pipes by soldering a couple of joints from which water had been ozzing.
- solace
- comfort in trouble. I hope you will fin solace in the though that all of us share your loss.
- sojourn
- temporary stay. After his sojourn in Florida, he began to long for the colder climate of his native New England home.
- sodden
- soaked; dull, as if from drink. He set his sodden overcoat near the radiator to dry
- sobriety
- moderation (especially regarding indulgence in alcohol) seriousness. Neither falling down drunks nor stand up comics are noted for sobriety
- snivel
- run at the nose; snuffle; whine. Don't you come sniverling to me complaining about your big brother.
- snicker
- half-stifled laugh. The boy could not suppress a snicker when the teacher sat on the tack
- smolder
- burn without flame; be liable to brak out at any moment. The rags smoldered for hours before they burst into flame.
- smirk
- conceited smile. Wipe that smirk off your face.
- smelt
- melt or blend ores, changing their chemical composition. The furnaceman smelts tin with copper to create a special alloy used in making bells.
- smattering
- slight knowledge. I don't know whether it is better to be ignorant of a subject or to have a mere smattering of information about it.
- slur
- insult to one's character or reputation;slander. Polls revealed that the front-runner's standing had been damaged by the slurs and innuendoes circulated by his opponent's staff.
- sluice
- artificial channel for directing or controlling the flow of water. In times of drought, this sluice enables farmers to obtain water for irrigation.
- sluggish
- slow; lazy; lethargic. After two nights without sleep, she felt sluggish and incapable of exertion
- sluggard
- lazy person. "You are a sluggar, a drone, a parasite," the angry father shouted at his lazy son.
- slovenly
- untidy; careless in work habits. Unsahaven, sitting around in his bathrobe all afternoon, Gus didn't care about the slovenly appearance he presented.
- slough
- cast off. Each spring, the snake sloughs off its skin
- slothful
- lazy. The british word 'layabout' is a splendid descriptive term for someone slothful: What did the lazy bum do? He lay about the house all day.
- sloth
- slow-moving tree-dwelling mammal. Note how well the somewhat greenish coat of the sloth enables it to blend in with its arboreal surrounds.
- slither
- slip or slide. During the recent ice storm, many people slithered down hthis hill as they walked to the station.
- slipshod
- untidy or slovenly; shabby. As a master craftsman, the carpenter prided himself on never doing slipshod work
- slight
- insult to one's dignity; snub. Hypersensitive and ready to take offense at any discoutesy, Bertha was always on the lookout for real or imaginary slights.
- slew
- large quantity or number. Although Ellen had checked off a number of items on her 'to do' list, she still had a whole sleq of errands left.
- sleight
- dexterity. The magicia amased the audience with his sleight of hand.
- sleeper
- something originally of little value or importance wthat in tiem becomes very valuable. Unnoticed by the critics at its publication, the eventual Pulitzer Prize winner was a classic sleeper.
- sleazy
- flimsy; unsubstantial. This is a sleazy fabric, it will not wear well.
- slapdash
- haphazard; careless; sloppy. From the number of typos and misspellings I've found in it, it's clear that Mario proofread the report in a remarkably slapdash fashion.
- slander
- defamation; utterance of false and malicious statements. Considering the negative comments politicians make about each other, it's a wonder that more of them aren't sued for slander.