SAT Master Word List #38

sedition

sedition

N. resistance to authority; insubordination.

seemly

ADJ. proper; appropriate.

seismic

ADJ. pertaining to earthquakes.

sentinel

N. sentry; lookout.

serenity

N. calmness; placidity.

servile

ADJ. slavish; cringing.

servitude

N. slavery; compulsory labor.

sever

V. cut; separate.

severity

N. harshness; intensity; sternness; austerity.

sham

V. pretend.

shirk

V. avoid (responsibility, work, etc.); malinger.

shoddy

ADJ. inferior; trashy; cheap.

shrewd

ADJ. clever; astute.

shun

V. keep away from.

simile

N. comparison of one thing with another, using the word “like” or “as.”

simplistic

ADJ. oversimplified.

simulate

V. feign.

singular

ADJ. unique; extraordinary; odd.

sinister

ADJ. evil; conveying a sense of ill omen.

skeptic

N. doubter; person who suspends judgment until the evidence supporting a point of view has been examined.

skimp

V. provide scantily; live very economically.

slacken

V. slow up; loosen.

slander

N. defamation; utterance of false and malicious statements.

slovenly

ADJ. untidy; careless in work habits.

sluggish

ADJ. slow; lazy; lethargic.

slur

V. speak indistinctly; mumble.

slur

N. insult to one’s character or reputation; slander.

sobriety

N. moderation (especially regarding indulgence in alcohol); seriousness.

solemnity

N. seriousness; gravity.

solicit

V. request earnestly; seek.

solicitous

ADJ. worried; concerned.

soliloquy

N. talking to oneself.

solitude

N. state of being alone; seclusion.

soluble

ADJ. (1) able to be dissolved; (2) able to be explained.

solution

N. (1) act of solving (a problem, difficult situation, etc.); (2) liquid mixture whose components are uniformly distributed.

solvent

ADJ. (1) able to dissolve; (2) able to pay all debts.

solvent

N. substance that dissolves another.

somber

ADJ. (1) gloomy, depressing; (2) dark, drab.

sophisticated

ADJ. worldly-wise and urbane; complex.

sophistry

N. seemingly plausible but fallacious reasoning.

sophomoric

ADJ. immature; half-baked, like a sophomore.

sovereign

ADJ. (1) efficacious; (2) supreme or paramount; (3) self-governing.

sparse

ADJ. not thick; thinly scattered; scanty.

spatial

ADJ. relating to space.

specious

ADJ. seemingly reasonable but incorrect; misleading (often intentionally).

spectrum

N. colored band produced when a beam of light passes through a prism.

speculate

V. (1) form a theory about something, often without sufficient evidence; (2) assume a financial risk in hopes of gain.

spendthrift

N. someone who wastes money.

spontaneity

N. lack of premeditation; naturalness; freedom from constraint.

sporadic

ADJ. occurring irregularly.