 | Term | Definition |
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seclusion |
isolation; solitude; V. seclude: set apart from others; isolate |
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secrete |
conceal; hide away or cache; produce and release a substance into an organism; CF. secretive |
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sect |
separate religious body; faction; group of people with common beliefs within a larger group |
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sectarian |
of a sect; narrow-minded; parochial; N: member of a sect; narrow-minded person |
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secular |
worldly; not pertaining to church matters or religion; temporal |
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sedate |
composed (with no excitement); grave; V: administer a sedative to; CF. sedative |
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sedentary |
requiring sitting; done while sitting; not moving from one place to another; settled; |
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sedition |
conduct or language inciting rebellion; rebellion; resistance to authority; insubordination; |
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seduce |
lead away from proper conduct; entice; ADJ. seductive |
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sedulous |
diligent; assiduous; paying attention; |
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seedy |
run-down; decrepit; disreputable; having many seeds; |
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seemly |
(of behavior) proper; appropriate |
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seep |
pass slowly through small openings; ooze; trickle; N. seepage |
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seethe |
be violently disturbed; boil; (of a liquid) move about wildly as if boiling; |
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seine |
seine net; net for catching fish |
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seismic |
pertaining to earthquakes |
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selective |
careful in choosing; having an effect only on certain things; not general; |
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self-indulgence |
excessive indulgence of one's own desire |
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self-righteous |
sure of one's own righteousness; moralistic |
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semblance |
outward appearance; guise; Ex. We called in the troops to bring a/some semblance of order to the city. |
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seminal |
related to seed or semen; germinal; creative; providing a basis for further development; influencing future developments; Ex. seminal research in a new field |
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seminary |
school for training future ministers; secondary school, especially for young women |
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senility |
old age; feeblemindedness of old age; ADJ. senile: resulting from old age; showing the weakness of body or mind from old age; Ex. senile dementia |
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sensitization |
process of being made sensitive or acutely responsive to an external agent or substance; V. sensitize: make or become sensitive |
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sensual |
devoted to the pleasures of the sense; carnal; voluptuous; |
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sensuous |
giving pleasure to the senses; pertaining to the physical senses; operating through the senses; sensuous feeling of soft velvet on the skin |
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sententious |
pithy; terse; concise; aphoristic |
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sentient |
capable of sensation and conscious; aware; sensitive; |
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sentimental |
swayed by sentiment; appealing to the sentiments |
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sentinel |
sentry; lookout |
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septic |
of or causing sepsis; putrid; producing putrefaction; N. sepsis: poisoning of part of the body (producing pus) |
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sepulcher |
tomb; V: place in a sepulcher; ADJ. sepulchral |
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sequester |
isolate; segregate; seclude; retire from public life |
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sere |
sear; parched; dry |
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serendipity |
gift for finding valuable things by accident; accidental good fortune or luck; |
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serenity |
calmness; placidity; |
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serpentine |
winding; twisting; of or like a serpent; |
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serrated |
having a sawtoothed edge; |
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servile |
slavish; cringing; N. servility |
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servitude |
slavery; compulsory labor imposed as a punishment |
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sever |
separate; cut off (a part) from a whole; break up (a relationship); N. severance; CF. severance pay: extra pay given an employee upon leaving a position |
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severity |
harshness; intensity; sternness; austerity; ADJ. severe: harsh; strict; extremely violent or intense |
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sextant |
navigation tool used to determine a ship's latitude and longitude (by measuring the altitudes of stars) |
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shack |
crude cabin |
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shackle |
chain; fetter; confine with shackles; N. |
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shade |
slight difference in degree; nuance; degree of color; |
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sham |
pretend; feign; ADJ: not genuine; fake; ; N: something that is not what it appears; impostor; pretense; |
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shambles |
(place or scene of) complete disorder or ruin; wreck; mess; |
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Shangri-la |
imaginary remote paradise on earth; CF. Lost Horizon |
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shard |
fragment generally of broken pottery (glass, clay bowl, or cup) |
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shaving |
very thin piece, usually of wood (cut from a surface with a sharp blade) |
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sheaf |
bundle of stalks of grain; any bundle of things tied together |
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shear |
remove (fleece or hair) by cutting; remove the hair or fleece from; cut with or as if with shears; ; pair of scissors |
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sheathe |
place into a case; insert into or provide with a sheath; Ex. He sheathed his dagger; N. sheath: case for a blade |
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shed |
small roofed structure for storage and shelter; V: pour forth; lose by natural process; repel without allowing penetration; radiate; cast; |
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sheer |
pure; thin and transparent; very steep |
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sherbet |
flavored dessert ice |
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shift |
change position or place; exchange (one thing) for another; change in direction or position; N. group of workers which takes turns with other groups; working period of such a group |
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shimmer |
shine with a flickering light; glimmer intermittently; |
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shirk |
avoid (responsibility, work, etc.); malinger |
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shoddy |
made of inferior material; sham; not genuine; inferior; dishonest; |
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shoot |
new growth from a plant |
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shove |
push forward; push roughly; |
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shrew |
scolding woman; very small mouselike animal |
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shrewd |
clever; astute |
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shrivel |
make or become shrunken and wrinkled (often by drying) |
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shudder |
shake uncontrollably; tremble; V. |
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shuffle |
mix together; jumble; move (something) from one place to another; slide (the feet) along the ground while walking; Ex. shuffle papers from one pile to another; N. |
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shun |
keep away from; avoid deliberately; Ex. She has been shunned by her neighbors. |
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shunt |
move (a railway train) from one track to another; turn aside; divert; sidetrack; |
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shyster |
lawyer using questionable methods; unscrupulous practioner |
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sibling |
brother or sister |
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sibylline |
prophetic; oracular; N. sibyl: woman prophet (in the ancient world) |
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sidereal |
relating to stars; |
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sidetrack |
switch (a railroad car) to a siding; divert from a main issue; N. CF. siding: short section of railroad track connected by switches with a main track |
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sift |
put through a sieve to separate fine from coarse particles; sort or examine carefully |
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significant |
expressing a meaning; important; Ex. significant smile; N. significance: importance; meaning; V. signify: denote; mean; signal; make known; matter; be significant |
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silt |
sediment deposited by running water (at the entrance to a harbor or by a bend in a river) |
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simian |
monkeylike; N: ape or monkey |
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simile |
comparison of one thing with another, using the word like or as |
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simper |
smirk; smile in a silly way; smile affectedly |
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simplistic |
oversimplified |
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simulate |
feign; imitate |
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sinecure |
well-paid position with little responsibility;: without care; CF. San Serif |
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sinewy |
(of meat) tough; strong and firm; muscular; N. sinew: tendon; strong cord connecting a muscle to a bone |
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singular |
being only one; individual; unique; extraordinary; odd; |
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sinister |
evil; ominous |
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sinuous |
twisting; winding; bending in and out; not morally honest |
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siren |
apparatus for making sounds; womanlike creature |
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skeptic |
sceptic; doubter; person who suspends judgment until he has examined the evidence supporting a point of view; ADJ. skeptical; N. skepticism; scepticism |
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skiff |
small light sailboat or rowboat |
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skim |
read or glance through quickly; touch lightly in passing; brush; remove from the surface of a liquid |
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skimp |
provide or use scantily; live very economically; : inadequate in amount; scanty; stingy; niggardly |
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skinflint |
miser; stingy person |
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skirmish |
minor fight; minor battle in war; V. |
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skittish |
inconstant; capricious; frivolous; not serious; |
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skulduggery(skullduggery) |
dishonest behavior or action; |
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skulk |
move furtively and secretly; |
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slack |
moving slowly; sluggish; inactive; (of a rope) loose; negligent; lax; |
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slacken |
slow up; loosen; make or become slack |
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slag |
glassy residue from smelting metal; dross; waste matter |
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slake |
satisfy (thirst); quench; sate |
| Add or remove terms from this set |
