Sanctimonious (sangk tuh MOH nee us) - pretending to be devout; affecting religious feeling Example: Simon is an egoist who speaks about almost nothing but caring for one's fellow man. His altruism was sanctimonious.

Sequester (si KWES tur) - to set or keep apart Example: Since much of the rest of the city has become a battle zone, the visiting entertainers were sequestered in the international hotel.

Sobriety (suh BRYE uh tee) - the state of being sober; seriousness Example: Sobriety was such an unfamiliar condition that the reforming alcoholic didn't recognize it at first.

Steadfast (STED fast) - loyal; faithful Example: Steadfast love is love that never wavers.

Stigmatize (STIG muh tyze) - to brand with disgrace; to set a mark or disgrace upon Example: Steve's jeans were Lee's instead of Levi's, and this mistake stigmatized him for the rest of his high school career.

Stymie (STYE mee) - to thwart; to get in the way of; to hinder Example: Stymie is a golfing term. A golfer is stymied when another player's ball lies on the direct path between his or her own ball and the cup.

Surfeit (SUR fit) - excess; an excessive amount; excess or overindulgence in eating or drinking Example: Thanksgiving meals are usually a surfeit for everyone involved.

Sporadic (spuh RAD ik) - stopping and starting; scattered; occurring in burst every once in a while Example: The bathers were made jittery by sporadic gunfire that peppered the beach.

Sordid (SOR did) - vile; filthy; squalid Example: The drug dealers had turned a once pretty neighborhood into a sordid outpost of despair and crime.

Sycophant (SIK uh funt) - one who sucks up to others Example: The French class seemed to be full of sycophants; the students were always bringing apples to the teacher and telling her how nice she looked.

Servile (SUR vyle) - submissive and subservient; like a servant Example: The horrible boss demanded servility from his employees; when he said Jump! he expected them to ask How high?

Sacrilege (SAK ruh lij) - a violation of something sacred; blasphemy Example: The members of the fundamentalist sect believed that dancing, going to movies, and watching television were sacrileges.

Stratum (STRAT um) - a layer; a level Example: The middle class is one stratum of society.

Secular (SEK yuh lur) - having nothing to do with religion or spiritual concerns Example: The priest's secular interests include German food and playing the trombone.

Stoic (STOH ik) Definition: indifferent (at least outwardly) to pleasure or pain, to joy or grief, to fortune or misfortune Sentence: Nina was stoic about the death of her canary; she went about her business as though nothing sad had happened.

Sedition (si DISH un) Definition: treason; the incitement of public disorder or rebellion Sentence: Revolutions usually begin as a small band of seditious individuals plot to change the established order.

Sardonic (sahr DAHN ik) Definition: mocking; scornful Sentence: Robert's weak attempts at humor were met by nothing but a few scattered pockets of sardonic laughter.

Static (STAT ik ) Definition: stationary, not changing or moving Sentence: Sales of the new book soared for a few weeks, then became static.

Sanctimonious (sangk tuh MOH nee us) Definition: pretending to be devout; affecting religious feeling Sentence: Simon is an egoist who speaks about almost nothing but caring for one's fellow man. His altruism was sanctimonious.

Sequester (si KWES tur) Definition: to set or keep apart Sentence: Since much of the rest of the city has become a battle zone, the visiting entertainers were sequestered in the international hotel.

Stigmatize (STIG muh tyze) Definition: to brand with disgrace; to set a mark or disgrace upon Sentence: Steve's jeans were Lee's instead of Levi's, and this mistake stigmatized him for the rest of his high school career.

Stymie (STYE mee) Definition: to thwart; to get in the way of; to hinder Sentence: Stymie is a golfing term. A golfer is stymied when another player's ball lies on the direct path between his or her own ball and the cup.

Surfeit (SUR fit) Definition: excess; an excessive amount; excess or overindulgence in eating or drinking Sentence: Thanksgiving meals are usually a surfeit for everyone involved.

Succinct (suk SINGKT) Definition: brief and to the point; concise Sentence: We were given so little room in which to write on the examination that we had no choice but keep our essays succinct.

Subordinate (suh BOR duh nit) Definition: lower in importance, position, or rank; secondary Sentence: A vice president is subordinate to a president.

Surreptitious (sur up TISH us) Definition: sneaky; secret Sentence: The dinner guest surreptitiously slipped a few silver spoons into his jacket as he was leaving the dining room.

Soporific (sahp uh RIF ik) Definition: sleep inducing; extremely boring; very sleepy Sentence: The doctor calmed his hysterical patient by injecting him with some sort of soporific medication.

Sordid (SOR did) Definition: vile; filthy; squalid Sentence: The drug dealers had turned a once pretty neighborhood into a sordid outpost of despair and crime.

Sycophant (SIK uh funt) Definition: one who sucks up to others Sentence: The French class seemed to be full of sycophants; the students were always bringing apples to the teacher and telling her how nice she looked.

Servile (SUR vyle) Definition: submissive and subservient; like a servant Sentence: The horrible boss demanded servility from his employees; when he said Jump! he expected them to ask How high?

Stratum (STRAT um) Definition: a layer; a level Sentence: The middle class is one stratum of society.

Secular (SEK yuh lur) Definition: having nothing to do with religion or spiritual concerns Sentence: The priest's secular interests include German food and playing the trombone.

Slander (SLAN dur) - to speak badly about someone publicly; to defame; to spread malicious rumor Example: Jonathan slandered Mr. Perriwinkle by telling everyone in school that the principal wore a toupee.

Solicitous (suh LIS uh tus) - eager and attentive, often to the point of hovering, anxiously caring or attentive Sentence: When the sick movie star sneezed, half a dozen solicitous nurses came rushing into the hospital room.

Succumb (suh KUM) - to yield or submit; to die Example: When Willard reached the age of 110, his family began to think that he would live forever, but he succumbed not long afterward.

Spawn (spawn) - to bring forth; to produce a large number Example: A best-selling book or blockbuster movie will spawn dozens of imitators.

Sacrosanct (SAK roh sangkt) - sacred; held to be inviolable Sentence: A church is sacrosanct. So for Christians, is belief in the divinity of Jesus Christ.

Synthesis (SIN thuh sis) - the combining of parts to form a whole Sentence: A hot fudge sundae is the perfect synthesis of hot fudge and vanilla ice cream.

Salient (SAYL yunt) - sticking out; conspicuous; leaping Sentence: A salient characteristic is one that leaps right out at you.

Staunch (stawnch) Definition: firmly committed; firmly in favor of; steadfast Sentence: A staunch Republican is someone who always votes for Republican candidates.

Surrogate (SUR uh git) Definition: substitute Sentence: A surrogate mother is a woman who bears a child for someone else.

Sublime (suh BLYME) Definition: awesome; extremely exalted; lofty; majestic Sentence: After winning $70 million in the lottery and quitting our jobs as sewer workers, our happiness was sublime.

Spurious (SPYOOR ee us) Definition: false; fake Sentence: An apocryphal story is one whose truth is uncertain. A spurious story, however, is out-and-out false, no doubt about it.

Superfluous (soo PUR floo us) Definition: extra; unnecessary; redundant Sentence: Andrew's attempt to repair the light bulb superfluous, since the light bulb had already been repaired.

Scintillate (SIN tuh layt) Definition: to sparkle, either literally or figuratively Sentence: Benny's grades last term weren't scintillating, to put it mildly; he had four Ds and an F.

Singular (SING gyuh lur) Definition: unique; superior; exceptional; strange Sentence: Dale had the singular ability to stand on one big toe for several hours at a stretch.

Scrupulous (SKROO pyuh lus) Definition: strict; careful; hesitant for ethical reasons Sentence: Doug was scrupulous in keeping his accounts; he knew where every penny came from and where every penny went.

Sagacious (suh GAY shus) Definition: discerning; shrewd; keen in judgment; wise Sentence: Edgar's decision to move the chickens into the barn turned out to be sagacious; about an hour later, the hailstorm hit.

Stipulate (STIP yuh layt) Definition: to require something as part of an agreement Sentence: Guarantees often stipulate certain conditions that must be met if the guarantee is to be valid.

Scrutinize (SKROOT uh nyze) Definition: to examine very carefully Sentence: I scrutinized the card catalog at the library but couldn't find a single book on the topic I had chosen for my term paper.

Squalor (SWAHL ur) Definition: filth; wretched, degraded, or repulsive living conditions Sentence: If people live in squalor for too long, the ruling elite can count on an insurgency.

Serendipity (ser un DIP uh tee) Definition: accidental good fortune; discovering good things without looking for them Sentence: It was serendipity rather than genius that led the archaeologist to his breathtaking discovery of the ancient civilization.

Sloth (slawth) Definition: laziness; sluggishness Sentence: Ivan's weekends were devoted to sloth. He never arose before noon, and he seldom left the house before Monday morning.

Solvent (SAHL vunt) Definition: not broke or bankrupt, able to pay one's bills Sentence: Jerry didn't hope to become a millionaire; all he wanted to do was remain solvent.

Squander (SKWAHN dur) Definition: to waste Sentence: Jerry failed to husband his inheritance; instead, he squandered it on stuffed toys.

Slander (SLAN dur) - to speak badly about someone publicly; to defame; to spread malicious rumor Example: Jonathan slandered Mr. Perriwinkle by telling everyone in school that the principal wore a toupee.

Salutary (SAL yuh ter ee) - healthful; remedial; curative Example: Lowered blood pressure is among the salutary effects of exercise.

Subversive (sub VUR siv) - corrupting; overthrowing; undermining; insurgent Example: Madeline's efforts to teach her first-grade students to read were thwarted by that most subversive of inventions, the television set.

Strife (stryfe) - bitter conflict; discord; a struggle or clash Example: Marital strife often leads to divorce.

Stoic (STOH ik) - indifferent (at least outwardly) to pleasure or pain, to joy or grief, to fortune or misfortune Example: Nina was stoic about the death of her canary; she went about her business as though nothing sad had happened.

Sanguine (SANG gwin) - cheerful; optimistic; hopeful Example: Peter was sanguine about his chances of winning the Nobel Peace Prize, even though, as an eighth grader, he hadn't really done anything to deserve it.

Sedition (si DISH un) - treason; the incitement of public disorder or rebellion Example: Revolutions usually begin as a small band of seditious individuals plot to change the established order.

Sardonic (sahr DAHN ik) - mocking; scornful Example: Robert's weak attempts at humor were met by nothing but a few scattered pockets of sardonic laughter.

Stringent (STRIN junt) - strict; restrictive Example: The restaurant's stringent dress code required diners to wear paper hats, army boots, and battery-operated twirling bow-ties.

Specious (SPEE shus) - deceptively plausible or attractive Example: The river's beauty turned out to be specious; what had looked like churning rapids from a distance was, on closer inspection, some sort of foamy industrial waste.

Supercilious (soo pur SIL ee us ) - haughty; patronizing Example: The supercilious Rolls-Royce salesman treated us like peasants until we opened our suitcase full of one-hundred-dollar bills.

Subjugate (SUB juh gayt) - to subdue and dominate; to enslave Example: The tyrant subjugated all the peasants living in the kingdom, once free, they were now forced to do his bidding.

Superficial (soo pur FISH ul) - on the surface only; shallow; not thorough Example: Tom had indeed been shot, but the wound was superficial; the bullet had merely creased the tip of his nose.

Succinct (suk SINGKT) - brief and to the point; concise Example: We were given so little room in which to write on the examination that we had no choice but keep our essays succinct.

Solicitous (suh LIS uh tus) - eager and attentive, often to the point of hovering, anxiously caring or attentive Example: When the sick movie star sneezed, half a dozen solicitous nurses came rushing into the hospital room.

Sensory (SEN suh ree) - having to do with the senses or sensation Example: Your ears, eyes, and tongue are all sensory organs. It is through them that your senses operate.

Sacrosanct (SAK roh sangkt) - sacred; held to be inviolable Example: A church is sacrosanct. So for Christians, is belief in the divinity of Jesus Christ.

Synthesis (SIN thuh sis) - the combining of parts to form a whole Example: A hot fudge sundae is the perfect synthesis of hot fudge and vanilla ice cream.

Salient (SAYL yunt) - sticking out; conspicuous; leaping Example: A salient characteristic is one that leaps right out at you.

Staunch (stawnch) - firmly committed; firmly in favor of; steadfast Example: A staunch Republican is someone who always votes for Republican candidates.

Surrogate (SUR uh git) - substitute Example: A surrogate mother is a woman who bears a child for someone else.

Subordinate (suh BOR duh nit) - lower in importance, position, or rank; secondary Example: A vice president is subordinate to a president.

Sublime (suh BLYME) - awesome; extremely exalted; lofty; majestic Example: After winning $70 million in the lottery and quitting our jobs as sewer workers, our happiness was sublime.