GRE Vocabulary Cartoons: S Words

saccharine

excessively or disgustingly sweet

(adj.) excessively sweet in a fake way

sacrosanct

(adj.) very sacred or holy; inviolable; set apart or immune from questioning or attack

(adj.) holy

salacious

(adj.) appealing to sexual desire

salient

very noticeable or important

(adj.) very important or noticeable

salubrious

(adj.) good for one's health

salutary

(adj.) beneficial, helpful; healthful, wholesome

sangfroid

composure or coolness, especially in trying circumstances

(noun) coolness and composure

sanguine

cheerful; optimistic

(adj.) optimistic

sap

(verb) to weaken

sapid

(adj.) flavorful

sapient

(adj.) wise; full of knowledge

(adj.) wise

sardonic

grimly or scornfully mocking, bitterly sarcastic

(adj.) bitterly mocking

(adj.) mocking in a mean way

sashayed

strutted or walked in a showy or flashy way

(adj.) walked in a showy way

satiated

(adj.) satisfied

scanty

not enough or just barely enough; small in size or amount

(adj.) barely sufficient, minimal

scapegoat

(noun) one who bears the blame for others

(noun) one that takes the blame

scathing

(adj.) bitterly severe, withering; causing great harm

(adj.) sharply critical

schism

(noun) a separation into opposing groups; a divide

scintillating

sparkling, twinkling, exceptionally brilliant

1. (adj.) sparking

2. (adj.) brilliant

Mnemonic: Scintillating starts with "sci" → imagine a sparkling science experiment full of bright sparks.

sclerotic

1. (adj.) rigid

2. (adj.) reluctant to adapt or compromise

scoff

(verb) to mock or show contempt.

Mnemonic: laugh off

scofflaw

a contemptuous law violator

(noun) a contemptuous law-breaker

scotch

(verb) to put a sudden end to; to injure

scrupulous

having integrity or being exact

1. (adj.) paying great attention to detail

2. (adj.) having strong moral principles

scrutinize

(verb) to examine closely

(verb) to examine carefully

scuffle

struggle at close quarters in a rough and confused manner; wrestle; grapple

(noun) a brief fight

scurrilous

(adj.) coarsely abusive, vulgar or low (especially in language), foul-mouthed

(adj.) obscenely abusive

scuttle

(verb) to destroy; to scrap

secretes

(verb) forms and gives off

sectarian

(adj.) narrow-minded

Secular

Concerned with worldly rather than spiritual matters

(adj.) non-religious

sedentary

(adj.) characterized by or calling for continued sitting; remaining in one place

(adj.) sitting most of the time; inactive

sedulous

(adj.) persistent, showing industry and determination

(adj.) hardworking, persistent, careful

segue

an easy, effective, or uninterrupted transition

(noun) a transition

self-styled

characterized by oneself, often without right or justification

(adj.) self-proclaimed

semblance

(n.) a likeness; an outward appearance; an apparition

(noun) an outward appearance

seminal

(adj.) - original, ground-breaking

(adj.) ground-breaking, original

sententious

(adj.) self-righteous, characterized by moralizing; given to use of maxims or adages; saying much in few words, pithy

(adj.) using wise-sounding or preachy sayings.

sentient

(adj.) conscious; capable of feeling or perceiving

(adj.) having sense perception, conscious

sequacious

following with smooth or logical regularity; ready to follow any leader; pliant; slavish; obsequious.

(adj.) blindly following others; unquestioningly obedient

serendipity

luck, finding good things without looking for them

(noun) luck

servile

(adj.) overly submissive

sham

A pretense or counterfeit; something meant to deceive

(noun) a trick that deceives

(adj.) fake

shard

a piece of broken glass or pottery

(noun) a broken piece of something fragile

shelve

(verb) to put aside and postpone

shirk

(v.) to avoid or get out of doing work, neglect a duty; to sneak, slink

(verb) to avoid a duty

shoddy

(adj.) Poor quality

Mnemonic: shabby

showy

pretentious

(adj.) designed to attract attention

shrewd

(adj.) clever

simper

to smirk, smile foolishly

(verb) to smile in a silly, artificial, or self-conscious way.

simulacrum

(noun) an image or representation of someone or something

Origin late 16th century: from Latin, from simulare [see simulate]

sinuous

winding, having many curves; lithe and flexible

(adj.) having many curves

skittish

1. (adj.) nervous; easily frightened

2. (adj.) unpredictable

skullduggery

(noun) underhanded or unscrupulous behavior; trickery

(noun) trickery

skulk

(verb) to move about stealthily

slake

to calm down or moderate

(verb) to quench or satisfy

Slander

(noun, verb) the action or crime of making a false spoken statement damaging to a person's reputation.

make false and damaging statements about (someone).

(noun, verb) false verbal defamation

slipshod

showing a lack of care or thought

(adj.) careless

sloppy

(adj.) carelessly done

slothful

lazy, indolent

(adj.) lazy

slovenly

(adj.) untidy; carelessly done

slurp

(verb) to drink or eat with a loud sucking sound.

Mnemonic:

Imagine someone drinking noodles or soup:

SLUUURP! 🍜

The word itself sounds like the noise you make while sucking up liquid.

Slurp = drink noisily

sly

(adj.) clever at tricking or outsmarting people, wily

cunning / crafty / deceitful

Mnemonic:

SLY → "Sneaky Like You"

Imagine someone smiling innocently while secretly planning to trick you.

Sly = sneaky + clever

sojourn

(noun) a temporary stay; to stay for a time

solecism

(n.) a substandard or ungrammatical usage; a breach of etiquette; any impropriety or mistake

1. (noun) A breach of etiquette

2. (noun) A grammatical error

soliticious

anxious or concerned

(adj.) showing care or concern.

Solidarity

social charity and friendship

(noun) unity, mutual support

solipsistic

(adj.) believing that oneself is all that exists

(adj.) being extremely self-centered

somnolent

(adj.) sleepy, drowsy; inducing sleep

(adj.) sleepy

sonorous

full, deep, or rich in sound; impressive in style

1. (adj.) having a deep, rich sound

2. (adj.) impressive in style (especially speech or writing)

sophistry

(noun) a deliberately deceptive or misleading argument

(noun) deceptive reasoning

sophomoric

(adj.) immature and overconfident

soporific

(adj.) tending to cause sleep, relating to sleepiness or lethargy; (n.) something that induces sleep

(adj.) causing sleep

sordid

characterized by filth, grime, or squalor; foul

1. (adj.) filthy, foul

2. (adj.) morally degraded

soupcon

suspicion; a slight trace or flavor; a very small amount

(noun) a little bit

sovereign

a supreme ruler, especially a monarch.

1. (noun) king or queen

2. (adj.) independent

sparing

restrained in the use of resources

1. (adj.) economical, restrained in the use of resources

2. (adj.) lenient; merciful.

sparse

(adj.) thinly dispersed or scattered

(adj.) Few and widely spaced.

specious

deceptively attractive; seemingly plausible but fallacious

(adj.) seemingly true but actually false

spendthrift

(noun) person who spends money recklessly

(noun) someone who spends wastefully

splenetic

(adj.) bad-tempered, irritable

spur

1. (noun) a sharp metal device worn on a rider's boot to motivate a horse to move forward.

2. (noun) something that encourages or motivates.

3. (verb) to encourage or stimulate someone to take action.

spurious

(adj.) not genuine; false

(adj.) false

squalid

filthy, wretched, debased

(adj.) filthy

squalor

(noun) extreme dirtiness and poverty

(noun) a state of filthiness

Mnemonic: SQUALOR = SQUAT + FLOOR

Imagine entering such a filthy room that you don't want to touch anything. You squat on the floor because the furniture is disgusting.

Picture: A dirty house with garbage, flies, and a muddy floor. The whole place is in squalor.

squelch

To silence or suppress; crush

(verb) to crush or silence

stalwart

(adj.) strong and sturdy; brave; resolute; (n.) a brave, strong person; a strong supporter; one who takes an uncompromising position

(adj.) loyal, dependable, strong supporter

stanch

to stop or check the flow of

(verb) to stop the flowing of

staple

an important item or raw material

1. (noun) something commonly used, an essential

2. (noun) the small metal fastener

statuesque

(adj.) attractively tall and dignified

staunch

(adj.) strongly loyal

steadfast

(adj.) loyal, faithful

Stigmas

(noun) negative stereotypes about groups of people

(noun) marks of shame

stilted

Artificially stiff or formal in manner

(adj.) overly formal, stiff

stolid

(adj.) unemotional; lacking sensitivity

(adj.) unemotional

storied

having an illustrious past

(adj.) having an interesting/ celebrated history

stratagem

a clever trick used to deceive or outwit

(noun) a clever strategy or tactic, often involving deception.

(noun) a clever scheme

streamlined

a smooth shape designed to decrease resistance to fluid flow

(verb, adj.) simplified and made more efficient.

strenuous

requiring tremendous energy or stamina

(adj.) requiring lots of energy

stricture

something that restrains, negative criticism

1. (noun) a restraint

2. (noun) a criticism