| Scrutinize | examine or inspect closely | I will not purchase the used vehicle until my mechanic has had time to scrutinize it under a microscope. |
| Scrutiny | careful examination of something or someone | My nosey neighbor, a former police officer, keeps everyone under scrutiny. |
| Sculpture | a piece of art created by carving or chiseling away wood or stone | A sculpture of an eagle was carved out of wood for the wildlife event. |
| Scurvy | mean; contemptible, deficiency of vitamin C | Many sailors died of scurvy due to lack of access to nutritional food. |
| Scuttle | to scamper or dash | Because I was running late, I had to scuttle through the airport parking lot. |
| Secular | not driven by religious principles | Since Bill was not a spiritual man, he went out of his way to attend a university with a secular focus. |
| Sedative | an agent or drug that sedates, having a calming or soothing effect, or inducing sleep | She was so upset at the loss of her husband, that the doctor gave her a sedative to calm her |
| Sedatives | An agent or drug that sedates, having a calming or soothing effect, or inducing sleep | The victim had to be subdued with sedatives before she would calm down enough to answer the investigator’s questions. |
| Sedentary | staying or living in one place | After my surgery, I had to remain sedentary for several weeks. |
| Sedulity | the quality of being constantly diligent and attentive, quality, application, or activity; diligence. | her sedulity was rewarded when the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the case |
| Sedulous | persevering, diligent, hard working and persistent | Even though you completely destroy the ant bed time after time, those sedulous ants will continue to go right back to work rebuilding it. |
| Seemly | appropriate or suitable | His outgoing and pushy personality caught many people off-guard, but it was seemly for his job as a salesman. |
| Seine | a fishing net which hangs vertically in the water with floats at the top and weights at the bottom edge, the ends being drawn together to encircle the fish | the fishermen then seine the weir |
| Seminal | like a seed constituting a source; originative, important and highly influential on later developments | Newton’s laws are seminal in the field of physics. |
| Seminary | a theological school that prepares students to become priests and pastors | Becoming a pastor required more than a love for the Lord, the preacher also needed a degree from the local seminary. |
| Sensuous | associated with the senses | The hypnotist’s sensuous voice was very relaxing. |
| Sententious | short and pithy full of maxims/proverbs, using few words, often in a preachy manner | The talk show host offended many audience members when he made sententious comments criticizing their beliefs. |
| Sentinel | one whose job is to keep watch and protect | At my house, my German Shepherd is the sentinel who keeps anyone from coming inside without permission. |
| Sequence | succession connected line of | A sequence of strange events back to back threatened to ruin the hotel’s reputation. |
| Sequester | to be put away for a specific reason | The people with the virus were told to sequester themselves at home to avoid spreading the illness. |
| Sere | make hard and without feeling, dry and withered | The sere leaves that covered the ground were once healthy, but are now dry and brittle. |
| Serendipity | the fact of finding pleasant or useful things by chance | The lottery is something one wins by serendipity not by design. |
| Serene | calm; peaceful | The quiet beach made a serene setting for the midnight wedding. |
| Sermon | reproving a person for his faults, a speech or talk on a religious or moral subject | When she continued to disobey, the girl’s parents delivered a sermon about curfew. |
| Serration | having a toothed edge | A serrated knife allowed the chef to saw the bread into slices. |
| Servile | like a slave lacking independence, submissive; willing to serve others | Some individuals are so servile that other people take advantage of their submissiveness |
| Sever | break off | Sever your unhealthy ways by removing them out of your life one bad habit at a time. |
| Severance | severing, ending of employment | Because the man was justly fired for stealing company firms, he is not eligible for this year’s bonus or a severance package. |
| Shallow | little depth; not earnest | A beauty pageant is a shallow contest in which people are judged mainly on their looks. |
| Shard | A piece of broken pottery | A sharp shard of shrapnel pierced the soldier’s armor and caused a deep wound. |
| Sheath | cover for the blade of a weapon or a tool | Carrying the sharp blade in its sheath helped protect the woodsman from accidental cuts. |
| Shed | to take something off | As it shimmied along the rainforest floor, the peeling snake continued to shed his skin |
| Shirk | to dodge responsibilities | The man tried to shirk his duties by pretending to be ill. |
| Shrewd | astute; showing sound judgement, having or showing sharp powers of judgment; sharp-witted | Ed is a shrewd deal maker; he has sold more cars per year than any salesman in the dealership’s history. |
| Shrill | sharp; piercing, sharp and high-pitched | The witch’s long nails made a shrill sound on the window. |
| Shrug-off | shake, remove | she shrugged off her coat and hung it up nea |
| Shuck | The shell or husk, especially of grains, fraud, useless | he said the idea was a shuck |
| Shun | keep away from avoid | Investors began to shun our company’s stock, causing it to plummet in value. |
| Shunned | avoided, kept away from | Mom’s doctor told her that if she wants to live to see her grandchildren she must shun fatty foods. |
| Shunt | send from one track to another lay aside evade discussion, to push or shove something | It’s unfortunate that our society tends to shunt older workers to retirement before they are ready. |
| Sibyl | a woman in ancient times who was thought to utter the prophecies of a god. | Erythrae was notable for being the seat of the Erythraean Sibyl. |
| Sidereal | relating to distant stars, planets, or constellations | Each sidereal year is measured by looking at the position of the sun relative to the stars. |
| Sidestep | step to one side, avoid (someone or something) by stepping sideways. | he sidestepped a defender and crossed the ball |
| Simper | (give a) silly/self-conscious smile, a silly or shy grin | The simper on Kate’s face causes me to think she gets nervous whenever she talks to a boy. |
| Sinecure | a position that requires no work but still gives a payment; a cushy job | The elderly man’s position as vice-president is a sinecure that only exists as a tribute for his sixty years of company service. |
| Sinewy | powerful and sturdy | Three sinewy men were able to lift the tree off the car. |
| Sinistral | of or on the left side or the left hand | he is a Sinistral |
| Sinuous | winding; undulating serpentine, and twisting | According to the treasure map, the cave is located at the end of the sinuous path that winds up the mountain. |
| Sip | to drink something slowly | I had to remember to sip the wine slowly so that I would not get a headache. |
| Skeptical | having reservations or doubts about something | Skeptical of strangers, the toddler refused to talk to anyone who he had never met before. |
| Sketchy | shortly, roughly, quickly, not detailed | the information they had was sketchy |
| Skiff | small boat | The fisherman hoped that the small skiff would be able to hold all of the fish he caught. |
| Skirmish | a skirmish is a brief argument | When the librarian wasn’t looking, the children had a short skirmish over a book. |
| Skit | short piece of humorous writing | a skit on daytime magazine programmes |
| Slack | sluggish; dull; not tight | Add some slack to the rope so that I can descend from the rock slowly. |
| Slake | to assuage to satisfy allay, slake means to quench or satisfy one’s thirst | This electrolyte water should help slake the runners’ thirst during the marathon. |
| Slate | a thin piece of rock that is often used a writing surface | Writing the letter A on the smooth slate, the teacher demonstrated correct form for her students. |
| Slew | to have killed something/someone | The knight slew the fire-breathing dragon by finding a weakness in its scales. |
| Sloppy | careless and unsystematic; excessively casual | we gave away a goal through sloppy defending |
| Sluggard | lazy slow-moving person | onas was your typical sluggard who loved nothing more than laying in his bed and playing video games all day. |
| Slur | join sounds/words (indistinct) | he was slurring his words like a drunk |
| Smelt | extract (metal) from its ore by a process involving heating and melting, a small silvery fish which lives in both marine | the zinc ores are smelted in Swansea |
| Smolder | burn slowly without flame | After we extinguished the bonfire, it continued to smolder for a long time. |
| Smorgasbord | a collection containing a variety of things | Fitness experts recommend trying a smorgasbord of cardiovascular activities to discover new hobbies |
| Smother | to restrict or stifle the airflow of someone or something requiring air or oxygen | By rubbing thick Vaseline over the tick under my skin that caused it to smother since it was trapped without oxygen. |
| Snare | trap | With a snare in place, the hunter had nothing to do but wait for the first rabbit to approach. |
| Snub | treat with contempt, the ignoring or brushing off of someone | When the newlywed turned her nose up to her mother-in-law’s dinner offer, the snub offended everyone in the family. |
| Soar | rise fly high | Gas prices always seem to soar in the summer when families are getting ready to travel. |
| Sober | self-controlled, Not drunk; not intoxicated | The woman’s expression was sober and sensible because she was generally a calm person. |
| Sobriety | quality or condition of being sober, the state of being not using alcohol or illegal drugs | Sobriety tests showed that the driver was inebriated and not able to operate a vehicle. |
| Sobriquet | nickname | Kitty is the sobriquet Catherine’s friends use when addressing her. |
| Sodden | soaked; saturated | My shoes were sodden after I walked a mile in the rain. |
| Soggy | heavy with water | These plants like moist air and moist but not soggy soil. |
| Solace | comfort in grief | After Maureen’s husband died, she sought solace in the church. |
| Solicit | to request or ask for something | If you want to solicit business from them, you’ll have to communicate at their level. |
| Soliloquy | a monologue that is spoken out loud by an actor or actress | The actress’s soliloquy let the audience hear the character’s inner thoughts right before the climax. |
| Solvent | of the power of forming a solution, able to pay all financial obligations | When the man realized he was not solvent and was unable to provide for his wife and kids, he killed himself. |
| Somatic | of the body | With successful treatment, both psychological and somatic symptoms vanish from the body. |
| Somber | grim or miserable | When I saw the doctor’s somber expression, I knew my diagnosis was not a good one. |
| Somersault | rolling backward or forward (not sideways) movement | The gymnast ended her routine with a forward somersault off of the beam. |
| Somnambulist | a somnambulist is one who sleep walks | The somnambulist has no idea she sleep walks to the neighbor’s house nearly every night. |
| Soot | black powder in smoke | Rubbing the rag across the floor, she realized the carbon soot would be much harder to move than regular dirt. |
| Soothsayer | an individual with the ability to predict the futurean individual with the ability to predict the futurean individual with the ability to predict the future | In the old days, the tribe’s soothsayer would predict the best day for battle. |
| Sophisticated | complex; subtle; refined | Because I prefer comedy movies, I turned down my friend’s offer to see the sophisticated French film. |
| Sophistry | fallacious; reasoning faulty logic, a reason or argument that sounds correct but is actually false | Although the cult leader knew he was being dishonest with his group members, he hoped they would believe his sophistry. |
| Sophomoric | being immature | After drinking too much alcohol, the celebrity made sophomoric comments that turned his fans against him. |
| Soporific | producing sleep | The professor’s boring speech was soporific and had everyone in the audience yawning. |
| Sordid | wretched; comfortless; contemptible, very bad or dirty | If people learn of the politician’s sordid past, they will not vote for him. |
| Sparse | ||
| Spear | weapon with a metal point on a long shaft | The Native American used a long rod to spear the fish right out of the water. |
| Specious | illogical of questionable truth or merit, seems correct or true, but actually wrong or false; deceptive | everal weight loss products on the market make specious claims as to their effectiveness. |
| Speckled | covered or marked with a large number of small spots or patches of colour. | a large speckled brown egg |
| Spendthrift | an individual who uses money in an irresponsible way | Because the lottery winner was a spendthrift, he spent his winnings in less than a year. |
| Spine | the backbone or vertebral column | The young man is affected by scoliosis of the back, otherwise known as a curvature of the spine. |
| Splenetic | bad-tempered;irritable, short-tempered | Because my uncle has a splenetic personality, it does not take a great deal to get on his bad side. |
| Splice | join (two ends) | we learned how to weave and splice ropes” |
| Sponge | porous rubber for washing live at once expense | she sponged him down in an attempt to cool his fever |
| Sporadic | happening from time to time | Since my father left my mother and me twenty years ago, he has made sporadic appearances in my life. |
| Spurious | false; counterfeit | The con artist made a spurious claim about being a member of the royal family. |
| Spurn | have nothing to do reject or refuse | Mikey is such a picky eater that he will spurn everything except chicken nuggets and ice cream |
| Squalid | foul filthy, extremely dirty and unpleasant | The homeless man had no choice but to sleep in squalid conditions. |
| Squander | spend wastefully | Eddie has a tendency to squander his entire allowance on comic books and action figures. |
| Squat | to bend deeply at the knees while resting on one’s feet | As she squat down, the trainer could feel her leg muscles growing stronger. |
| Squelch | The mean remark made by my uncle only served to squelch my desire to offer him any further kind of assistance. | The mean remark made by my uncle only served to squelch my desire to offer him any further kind of assistance. |
| Stagnant | not moving or increasing | Two days after the storm, the stagnant water puddles are still in my front yard. |
| Staid | serious, boring, or old-fashioned | Unlike my sister, I do not find science to be a staid subject that puts people to sleep. |
| Stake | a strong wooden or metal post with a point at one end, driven into the ground to support a plant, form part of a fence, mark a boundary, etc | mark an area with stakes so as to claim ownership of it. |
| Stanch | to stop the flow of a fluid e.g blood, loyal, trustworthy, reliable, outstanding | Although Joseph considers himself to be a staunch Republican, he has not voted for a Republican candidate in over six years. |
| Stanza | The first stanza of the poem introduces us to the misguided lovers.a portion of a poem displayed in paragraph form | The first stanza of the poem introduces us to the misguided lovers. |
| Stark | plain; without decoration | The house’s living room was stark and held only one couch. |
| Startle | to frighten or surprise an individual | If the music is too loud, it will startle the sleeping baby. |
| Statute | a law passed by a formal body such as a legislature | The statute prohibits businesses from selling alcohol to minors. |
| Staunch | loyal, trustworthy, reliable, outstanding | Since the two countries are staunch allies it is not surprising they will work together in the war to defeat their shared enemy. |
| Steadfast | faithful to a person, belief, or goal | The priest was steadfast in his belief that Christ had died for the sins of all mankind. |
| Steep | excessive or high | I can’t afford the steep rates at this hotel so I guess I’ll be sleeping in my car tonight. |
| Steeply | rising or falling sharply | the walls of the gorge rise steeply on both sides |
| Stentorian | extremely loud and powerful | The stentorian music was so loud it made my head hurt. |
| Stevedore | someone employed to load/unload cargo, specifically for ships | In Iceland, fishermen heavily depend on a skilled stevedore to load and unload the catch of the day. |
| Stickler | person who insists on importance of something | Our company hired an efficiency expert who is a stickler for increasing productivity. |
| Stiff | physically inflexible or hard | A week after it was baked, the baguette was stiff enough to be used as a weapon. |
| Stifle | make (someone) unable to breathe properly; suffocate,restrain (a reaction) or stop oneself acting on (an emotion) | those in the streets were stifled by the fumes |
| Stifled | suppressed, kept back | Because of the stifling chains, the prisoner found it difficult to walk. |
| Stigma | mark of shame or disgrace | Once upon a time, the stigma of being an unwed mother led many young women to attempt suicide |
| Stigmatize | describe somebody scornfully | People who practice homosexuality should not be criminalized or stigmatize to avoid the spread of new infection |
| Sting | something sharp, an irritation or pain caused by rubbing against a poisonous substance or receiving a piercing bite from a venomous creature | The chef only realized he cut himself while cutting lemons when the sting of the acidic juice burned his finger. |
| Stingy | spending using unwillingly, lacking generosity or the capacity to spend money | The billionaire businessman kept his millions stashed under his bed, too stingy to spend a single dollar. |
| Stint | to be thrifty to set limits, a span of time in which a person is occupied with a particular job or in a particular place | After a two-year stint as a Peace Corps volunteer, I returned home and became a teacher |
| Stipple | paint with dots | these pictures combine his favourite techniques—wash, line, and stipple |
| Stipulate | state or put forward as a necessary condition, to insist upon something as a condition of an agreement | The contracts of the baseball players stipulate they must attend all practices and games. |
| Stockade | a formation of grounded posts used as a defensive measure | fore the invaders can breach the wall, they must climb over the posts of the stockade. |
| Stoic | describing one who is not moved by pain or pleasure | My stoic uncle showed no emotion at his wife’s funeral. |
| Stoke | add coal or other solid fuel to (a fire, furnace, boiler, etc.),encourage or incite | his composure had the effect of stoking her anger |
| Stolid | showing no emotion impassive | Having seen his share of bloody crime scenes, the stolid police detective did not blink when he saw the five dead bodies. |
| Stoop | a place to sit that usually is taller than a chair and does not have a back to it | After painting the stool black, I scooted it underneath the tall table so that it could not be seen. |
| Strain | to make a strenuous effort, strenuous = urgent | The air traffic control system is under the strain of an immense volume of scheduled flights. |
| Stratagem | A tactic, a scheme or a clever plot, especially one used to outwit an opponent or achieve a goal | His chess stratagem was so good that he never lost a match. |
| Stray | wander lose one’s way, to move around | Our new kitten used to stray around the streets looking for food, water, and shelter. |
| Streak | long thin move very fast, محلول کا نشان چھوڑنا | After going through the car wash, the customer noticed a large streak of mud on the passenger door and demanded a refund. |
| Striated | striped grooved or banded | Muscles are composed of striated muscle fibers. |
| Stride | walk with long steps | When the interviewers saw their next candidate stride into the room with confidence they automatically considered him a serious contender. |
| Strident | loud and harsh | The old man’s voice was so strident that I gritted my teeth every time he spoke to me. |
| Stringent | very strict or severe | I was so happy to move out of my parents’ house and escape their stringent rules. |
| Strive | to make great efforts, to struggle | My mother told me to always strive to do my best in school so that I could get into a good college. |
| Strut | a supporting bar, a proud step or walk, with the head upright | The rooster would strut in the yard when trying to impress the hens. |
| Stupefying | make (someone) unable to think or feel properly | the offence of administering drugs to a woman with intent to stupefy her |
| Stygian | hence; dark; gloomy | The stygian cave led to an underground river which frightened the explorers. |
| Stymie | to hinder obstruct or block | Since my parents were unhappy about my college choice, they tried to stymie my decision by withholding their financial assistance. |
| Subdue | overcome bring under control | The victim had to be subdued with sedatives before she would calm down enough to answer the investigator’s questions. |
| Sublime | extreme; astounding | After the sublime meal, we asked to see the chef so that we could give him our compliments. |
| Subliminal | working beneath the level of awareness | Since subliminal suggestions exist beneath our conscious levels of thought, we rarely realize their influence. |
| Submerge | put under water or any liquid sink out of sight | Instead of dressing salad the conventional way, I like to submerge my vegetables into a bowl of olive oil before eating them. |
| Suborn | induce by bribery or something to commit perjury, successfully influence a person to commit a crime or do something wrong | hrough her charm and evil ways, a greedy woman might suborn an innocent stranger to kill her husband in order to get her husband’s life insurance money. |
| Subpoena | written order requiring a person to appear in a low court | If you ignore the judge’s subpoena to appear in court, you will be arrested. |
| Subside | become less intense, violent, or sever, (of water) go down to a lower or the normal level | “I’ll wait a few minutes until the storm subsides |
| Substantial | referring to something that is greater or larger than normal | Her substantial problem of gambling ultimately led to her bankruptcy and divorce since the family now owed so much money to the casino |
| Substantiate | to prove the truth of something | To get a good grade on the research project, you must substantiate your report with provable facts. |
| Substantiation | giving facts to support (statement), to prove the truth of something | To get a good grade on the research project, you must substantiate your report with provable facts. |
| Subsume | include under a rule, to include or absorb something or someone into a larger group | Some think that Taiwan should fully subsume into China, but many of the Taiwanese are dead set on preserving their independence. |
| Subterfuge | the action of deceiving; misrepresentation | Conspiracists argue that landing on the moon was an act of subterfuge. |
| Subtle | hard to notice or see | In the game, people are asked to identify the subtle differences between the similar pictures. |
| Subversive | intended to destroy the power or influence of a government or an established belief | The government closely monitors subversive organizations to see if they pose a threat to the country. |
| Succinct | expressed in a clear but brief manner | The ideal summary is succinct and to the point. |
| Succor | assistance relief in time of distress, aid, assistance or relief from distress | As soon as the news was broadcast, people from the small community were gathering in homes and churches to organize plans for bringing succor to the widows and children of the firefighters. |
| Succumb | yield, die, To yield to an overpowering force or overwhelming desire. | It was hard to watch Jerry succumb to his illness and become bedridden. |
| Suffice | be enough | Since I only have thirty dollars, this amount must suffice for my weekly food purchases. |
| Suffocate | cause or have difficulty in breathing | In the house fire many people do not die from being burned, but they suffocate from smoke inhalation. |
| Suffragist | a person advocating the extension of suffrage, especially to women. Suffage = The right or chance to vote, express an opinion | She also was an active suffragist before her death in 1873. |
| Sully | to be stained or discredited, to ruin or damage | Because my ex-husband’s wife tried to sully my relationship with my children, I find it difficult to speak to her in a kind manner. |
| Sumptuous | magnificent, splendid; of the best quality | My eyes grew large when I saw the sumptuous wedding feast. |
| Sundry | various miscellaneous; separate, a group of unrelated things | The store at the summer camp facility will carry a number of sundry items just in case you forget something from home. |
| Supercilious | people who think very highly of themselves | Lynda is so supercilious that she refuses to friend anyone outside her race. |
| Superfluous | more then is needed or wanted | Because I have already answered your question several times, answering it again would be superfluous. |
| Superimpose | put something on the top, to put one image over another image so both are seen | The software program makes it possible for users to superimpose their pictures into various scenes |
| Superlative | exceptionally good; excellent | She was a superlative student, getting nearly perfect grades on every assignment. |
| Supersede | take the place of | In time, the features of the smartphone may supersede those of the personal computer. |
| Supine | lying on the back slow to act passive | My brother-in-law is a lazy fellow who will sleep with his head up in a supine position all day long. |
| Supplant | to kick out or replace in a rough manner | If my stepmother thinks she can supplant my real mother, then she has a rude awakening in her future! |
| Suppliant | asking humbly beseeching | fter watching Tucker fail miserably because he had made bold demands, I decided to take a more suppliant tactic in asking for a raise. |
| Supplicant | one who prays humbly for something | As one praying meekly for her health, the supplicant was ceaseless in asking for a cure. |
| Supplicate | make a humble petition to, to humbly plead for something | Because Marcus is full of pride, he will never supplicate for financial assistance. |
| Suppress | prevent from being known put an end to | People on a diet may have to suppress their desire to eat chocolate. |
| Surcharge | additional load/charge | A surcharge is an extra fee that needs to be paid for a special service that is provided. |
| Surfeit | satiate feed to fulness or to excess, an overabundant supply | We had such a surfeit of food during the holidays that we gave a large portion of it to the family across the street. |
| Surly | ill-tempered and irritable | Someone with a headache may have surly attitude if everyone around them is too loud. |
| Surreptitious | marked by quiet and caution and secrecy | The dog has his surreptitious ways of stealing table scraps behind my back. |
| Susceptibility | sensitiveness, the state or fact of being likely or liable to be influenced or harmed by a particular thing. | lack of exercise increases susceptibility to disease |
| Susceptible | vulnerable to an influence | Many young children get the flu vaccine so they will be less susceptible to the virus. |
| Suspect | to believe something without having proof of its existence | I suspect that my keys are in my car, but I haven’t checked so I don’t know. |
| Sway | control or dominion | Africa was under Britain’s sway for several decades during colonial times. |
| Swerve | change direction suddenly | To avoid hitting the squirrel on the road, the car had to swerve to the left. |
| Swift | fast or rapid | The roadrunner is a swift animal capable of running very fast. |
| Swindle | to deceive someone in order to take wealth from them | The con man makes his money with scams that swindle people out of their money. |
| Sybarite | one who is self-indulgent and addicted to luxury | So he could relax whenever he wanted, the sybarite wanted to include a hot tub in his living room renovations. |
| Sycophant | person who flatter to the rich and powerful, a person who tries to get what they want by excessively praising or complimenting someone in order to make them feel attractive or important | Because she always kisses up to the teacher, Janice is considered the sycophant in first period. |
| Syllogism | a line of reasoning in which a conclusion is drawn from two related premises | If you believe that all water is safe to drink just because water from a bottle is safe to drink, you have used syllogism to reach a wrong conclusion. |
| Symphony | elaborate musical composition for full orchestra, typically in four movements, at least one of which is traditionally in sonata form. | Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony |
| Synapse | a junction between two nerve cells, consisting of a minute gap across which impulses pass by diffusion of a neurotransmitter. | he has pain in synapse |
| Syncopated | stressing beats that forms a contrast to the overall sound | The blues song had a disjointed rhythm that failed to syncopate with the underlying brass. |
| Tacit | implied but not directly stated | In my business, all that is needed for a tacit understanding is a handshake between men. |
| Taciturn | unspoken, silent | My shy brother is taciturn and rarely speaks in public. |
| Tactile | in regards to the sense of touch | The child’s tactile response was to move her hand away from the hot stove. |
| Tadpole | form of a frog when it leaves the egg | the frog was in tadpole when I saw it |
| Talisman | a charm worn or kept to bring good fortune and ward off evil; lucky charm | The gambler would not play a single game unless his talisman was in his shirt pocket. |
| Talon | claw of a bird of prey | The eagle’s talon held a helpless mouse in its grip. |
| Tamp | tap or drive down by repeated light blows | when the hole was tamped to the top, gunpowder was inserted |
| Tamper | interfere with | It is illegal to tamper with the property of another person, such as painting a fence that is on their property. |
| Tangent | a line of thought that is off topic | It surprised everyone when our history teacher went off on a tangent about physics. |
| Tangential | not directly related to something | Our team lost the debate because our responses were tangential and did not respond to our opponent’s position on the subject. |
| Tangible | capable of being touched | The tension in the air was so thick it was almost tangible |
| Tantrum | a fit or outburst of extreme emotion that is often deemed childish | The toddler threw a temper tantrum when his mother took away his favorite toy. |
| Tapestry | used in reference to complex or complicated combinations of things | America is a tapestry of races and cultures from all over the world, combining all of them into one whole. |
| Tardy | late to a specific event or delayed beyond the expected time | Students who do not arrive to class on time are tardy, and they often receive some sort of penalty for it. |
| Tare | another name for vetch, a common name for a flowering plant of the legume family | A tare is a legume plant, but it is only used to refer to legume plants that have blooming flowers on them. |
| Tarnished | lost brightness | Their image is tarnished in the eyes of the American public. |
| Tassel | bunch of threads | The tassel of pent is broken. |
| Taunt | contemptuous reproach hurtful remark | As the visiting team walked on the court, the hometown fans began to taunt the players. |
| Taut | tightly stretched, stressed to the point of being nervous | As I waited for the results of my lab tests, I was taut with anxiety. |
| Tautology | a repetition a redundancy, speech or text in which something is restated unnecessarily | The politician’s advertisement was simply tautology he restated several times within a thirty second period. |
| Tawdry | cheap and poor in appearance or quality | Everyone is always expecting a politician to have a tawdry affair. |
| Tedium | the condition of being dull or boring for a long period | We went to the golf range after a day of tedium at the office. |
| Teetotal | oppose to alcohol | a teetotal lifestyle |
| Telltale | That gives warning or information | Her nasty tone was a telltale sign of her irritation, even though she didn’t say anything particularly mean. |
| Temerity | boldness brashness intrepidness, excessive confidence or boldness; audacity | No one could believe Jake had the temerity to steal his mother’s cash. |
| Temperance | abstinence from alcohol self-control moderation | Determined to never become an alcoholic, Tim exercised temperance whenever he drank alcohol so he wouldn’t drink too much. |
| Temperate | showing self-control | sage can be grown outdoors in cool, temperate climates |
| Tempers | improve the hardness and elasticity of (steel or other metal) by reheating and then cooling it. | the way a smith would temper a sword |
| Tenable | able to be protected or maintained | During the battle, we were fortunate to be safe behind a tenable castle wall. |
| Tenacious | not readily letting go of or giving up | Because Eva was tenacious, she rose each time she fell. |
| Tenacity | the quality of being determined to do or achieve something | The doctor said it was only Mark’s tenacity that allowed him to walk again after the crippling accident. |
| Tendentious | exhibiting a certain prejudice towards a subject | Because my father is tendentious on the subject of interracial relationships, he will not acknowledge my black boyfriend. |
| Tender | soft, gentle manner | The mother gave her newborn a tender look so full of love that it brought her husband to tears. |
| Tentative | not certain or fixed | The time of the party is tentative and subject to change. |
| Tenuous | insubstantial flimsy weak | Because the evidence against her is tenuous, the accused murderer will be released from jail on bail. |
| Tepid | lukewarm, Uninterested | At the movie premiere, the director’s unusual film earned only a tepid response from the conservative audience. |
| Terse | brief and to the point | When Jessie is angry, she only gives terse responses. |
| Testiness | witness/evidence, Seen and Heard | he killed all testiness |
| Therapeutic | associated with the healing of a sickness | The therapeutic massage relieved the pain in my back. |
| Thrift | care economy thriving prosperous | Nonprofit organizations use their thrift to buy needed items to make life better for those they are devoted to helping. |
| Throwback | a prompting back to something or sometime in the past | While the teenage boy was helping the teacher glue glitter onto the paper, he felt that it was a throwback to his kindergarten days. |
| Thwart | obstruct/frustrate, to hinder or stop something from happening | In order to thwart the advancing enemy troops, the captain ordered the explosives team to destroy the bridge. |
| Timid | shy easily frightened | The woman tried to overcome her timid nature before her job interview. |
| Timorous | fearful timid afraid | The timorous kitten would not come out from under the bed. |
| Tirade | a long and angry speech | Because Carrie is normally a laidback person, she shocked everyone with her tirade. |
| Titter | a brief and partially suppressed laugh | The young girl held back a laugh and uttered a titter instead, unable to completely suppress her mirth. |
| Toady | obsequious flatterer, an individual who compliments others for a reason | In order to get a promotion, Amy has been acting like the manager’s toady by agreeing with everything he says. |
| Tocsin | a signal, especially of alarm | Because they cannot afford to get stuck in traffic, emergency Cars have a tocsin on them to warn other drivers to move out of their way on the road. |
| Toddler | used to refer to a young child that is just learning to walk | My son is just a two year old toddler, having taken his first steps about a week ago. |
| Tome | a huge educational written work | Instead of carrying the tome around the library, the young medical student decided to place it on a table and look it over. |
| Tonic | something giving strength or energy | a tonic body shampoo |
| Topple | be unsteady and overturn | Placing the bowling ball onto the flimsy table caused it to topple over onto the floor. |