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65 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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somnambulist
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n. sleepwalker
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somnolent
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adj. half asleep
the heavy meal and the hot room made us all somnolent |
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sonorous
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adj. resonant
sonorous voice |
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sophist
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n. 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 still specious |
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sophistry
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n. seemingly plausible but fallacious reasoning
Instead of advancing valid arguments he tried to overwhelm his audience w/ a flood of sophistries |
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sophomoric
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adj. immature; half-baked, like a sophomore
your humor is sophomoric |
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soporific
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adj. sleep-causing; marked by sleepiness
his lectures are so soporific |
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sordid
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adj. filthy; base; vile
the social worker was angered by the sordid housing provided for the homeless |
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spangle
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n. small metallic piece sewn to clothing for ornamentation
the thousands of spangles on her dress sparkled in the glare of the stage lights |
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spartan
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adj. lacking luxury and comfort; sternly disciplined
living in such spartan quarters only his spartan sense of duty kept him at his post |
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spat
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n. squabble; minor dispute
what started as a mere spat escalated into a full-blown argument |
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spate
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n. sudden flood
I am worried about he possibility of a spate if the rains do not diminish soon |
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spawn
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v. lay eggs
the salmon return to spawn in their native streams |
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specious
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adj. seemingly reasonable bu incorrect; misleading (often intentionally)
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spectral
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adj. ghostly
the spectral glow scared me |
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sphinx-like
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adj. enigmatic; mysterious
Mona Lisa's sphinx-like expression |
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splice
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v. fasten together; unite
splice the 2 strips of tape together |
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spoonerism
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n. accidental transposition of sounds in successive words
Futt Bucker |
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sportive
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adj. playful
sportive attitude |
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spruce
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adj. neat and trim
he looked spruce for his job interview |
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spry
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adj. vigorously active; nimble
She was 80 yrs old, yet still spry and alert! |
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spurious
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adj. false; counterfeit; forged; illogical
how do you tell spurious antiques from the real thing? |
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spurn
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v. reject; scorn
the heroine spurned the villain's advances |
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squabble
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n. minor quarrel; bickering
kids always get involved in petty squabbles |
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squalor
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n. filth; degradation; dirty, neglected state
the shack was the picture of squalor adj. squalid |
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squander
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v. waste
don't squander your allowance on candy! |
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squat
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adj. stocky; short and thick
Tolkien's hobbits are somewhat squat, sturdy little creatures |
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staid
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adj. sober; sedate
her conduct during the funeral was staid and solemn |
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stalwart
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adj. strong, brawny; steadfast
His consistent support of the party has proved that he is a stalwart and loyal member |
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stanch
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v. check flow of blood
u should stanch the gushing wound before you attend to other injuries |
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statute
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n. law enacted by the legislature
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statutory
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adj. created by statute or legislative action
The judicial courts review and try statutory crimes |
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steadfast
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adj. loyal; unswerving
she was steadfast in her affections |
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stealth
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n. slyness; sneakiness; secretiveness
he inched his way towards the enemy camp w/ great stealth |
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steep
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v. soak; saturate
steep the fabric in the dye bath |
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stellar
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adj. pertaining to the stars
He was the stellar attraction of the entire performance |
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stem
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v. check the flow
stem the bleeding from the slashed artery |
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stentorian
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adj. extremely loud
he had a stentorian voice |
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stickler
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n. perfectionist; person who insists things be exactly right
a stickler for accuracy |
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stifle
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v. suppress; extinguish; inhibit
Halfway through the boring lecture, Laura gave up trying to stifle her yawns |
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stigma
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n. token of disgrace; brand
I do not attach any stigma to the fact that you were accused of this crime |
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stilted
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adj. bombastic; stiffly pompous
his stilted rhetoric did not impress the audience |
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stint
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v. be thrifty; set limits
he refused to stint on wedding arrangements n. supply; allotted amount; assigned portion of work She performed her daily stint cheerfully and willingly |
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stipple
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v. paint or draw w/ dots
he stippled dabs of color on the canvas |
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stipulate
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v. make express conditions, specify
Before agreeing to reduce American forces, the Pres. stipulated that... |
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stock
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adj. typical; standard; kept regularly in supply
the book portrays stock characters |
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stockade
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n. wooden enclosure or pen; fixed line of posts used as defensive barrier
get the horses in the stockade before the Indians come! |
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stodgy
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adj. stuffy; boringly conservative
for a young person, Winston is remarkably stodgy |
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stoke
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v. stir up a fire; feed plentifully
I know how to stoke the fire if it begins to die down |
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stolid
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adj. dull; impassive
The earthquake shattered Stuart's usual stolid demeanor |
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strategem
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n. clever tick; deceptive scheme
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stratum
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n. layer of earth's surface; layer of society
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strew
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v. spread randomly; sprinkle; scatter
the flower girl will strew rose petals along the aisle |
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stricture
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n. critical comments; severe and adverse criticism
His strictures on the author's style are unwarranted |
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strident
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adj. loud and harsh; insistent
We can't hear the speaker over the strident cries of the hecklers |
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strut
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n. supporting bar
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studied
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adj. unspontaneous; deliberate; thoughtful
She felt that the omission of his name from the guest list was a studied insult |
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stultify
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v. cause to appear or become stupid or inconsistent; frustrate or hinder
menial labor had stultified his mind |
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stupefy
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v. make numb; stun; amaze
these medications should stupefy her |
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stygian
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adj. gloomy; hellish; deathly
stygian darkness |
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stymie
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v. present an obstacle; stump
the detective was stymied by the contradictory evidence |
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subaltern
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n. subordinate
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subjugate
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v. conquer; bring under control
it is not our aim to subjugate our foe |
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sublimate
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v. regine; purify
We must strive to sublimate these desires and emotions into worthwhile activities |
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sublime
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adj. exalted; noble and uplifting; utter
Lucy was in awe of Desi's sublime muscianship, while he was in awe of her sublime naivete. |
