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Sacrilege (n): a violation of something sacred; blasphemy
Using the Lord's name in vain is pur sacrilege, and extremely offensive to Christians.
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Sagacious (adj): indicating acute discernment; shrewd; wise
The sagacious judge could not be distracted or swayed by the defense attorney's manipulations.
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Salient (adj): projecting beyond a line, sticking out; conspicuous
The police could not overlook the salient fact that the car reeked of marijuana when the driver rolled down the window.
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Sanctimonious (adj): hypocritically pious or devout
It is those sanctimonious Christians that give the rest of us a bad reputation.
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Sanguine (adj): bloodred; consisting of or relating to blood: or cheerfulness, sturdiness, high color
Her sanguine approach to teaching gave her students hope that they would be successful in the class.
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Sardonic (adj): disdainfully or skeptically humorous; mocking; sarcastic
Many comedians base their routines on sardonic wit and sarcasm.
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Scintillate (v): to sparkle; to emit sparks;
She watched as her new engagement ring seemed to scintillate in the light--catching the light and throwing off sparks of color.
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Sequester (transitive verb): to set apart; segregate
It was necessary to sequester the jurors during such a high profile trial to keep them from being exposed to the wrong information.
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Serendipity (n): accidental good fortune; the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for
It was serendipity when the woman stopped to buy a lottery ticket--she never expected to win.
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Servile (adj): or or befitting a slave or a menial position; subservient
I warned my husband that he was not marrying a servile women, I was not going to be waiting on him hand and foot!
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Similitude (n): likeness, similarity; counterpart; double; imaginative comparison
The novel bore such an uncanny similitude to the occurrences of the small town that it caused the occupants to suspect it was written about them.
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Solicitous (adj): eager and attentive, often to the pont of hovering; manifesting or expressing; full of concern or fears
The new parents were so solicitous of their toddler that wold not leave him unattended.
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Soporific (adj): causing or tneding to cause sleep; extremely boring
Although I am an avid reader, I find some biographies soporific and very difficult to get through.
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Sordid (adj): filthy; squalid; marked by baseness or grossness
The defense knew it would be difficult to overcome the sordid details from the eye witness's testimony.
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Stellar (adj): outstanding; or or relating to the stars
The critics raved about the new actress's stellar performance--they all proclaimed that a star was born!
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Sublime (v): to elevate or exalt especially in dignity or honor; awesome
The new composer's rendition of the classic was sublime; it was better than the original!
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Supercilious (adj): cooly and patronizingly haughty
The woman's demeanor was supercilious as if to insinuate she was better than us.
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Sycophant (n): one who tries to ingratiate himself to others; servile self-seeking flatterer
The tycoon surrounded himself with sycophants who were all too eager to flatter him and answer to his every whim.
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Taciturn (adj): temperamentally disinclined to talk; not talkative
She was so taciturn that I seated her beside my loquacious friend in an effort to keep the conversation going.
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Tangential (adj): only superficially related to the matter at hand; not especially relevant; lying in a tangent
Our conversations are often tangential--we frequently verge off on unrelated topics and forget what we were discussing in the first place!
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Tantamount (adj): equilavent to in value; significance or effect
Not returning excess change is tantamount to stealing money from the cashier's drawer.
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Tautological (adj): redundant; circular; needless repetition of an idea
The instructor was tautological and constantly repeated the same information over and over.
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Temerity (n): reckless; boldness; rashness, foolhardy disregard of danger; boldness
The new show received criticism from the press for encouraging the temerity and stupidity of a group of teenagers from West Virginia.
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Tenacious (adj): persistent, dogged, stubborn; holding fast; characterized by keeping a firm hold
Olympic athletes must command a tenacious will to succeed in order to maintain their rigorous training schedules.
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Tenets (n): principle, doctrine, opinion
The Golden Rule is a common tenet that practically every faith believes in and follows.
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Timorous (adj): mousy, full of fear
Our dog is skittish and timorous when someone raises their hand, which leads us to believe he was abused by his previous owners.
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Turpitude (n): vile, shameful, or base character; depravity; shameful wickedness
The volunteer form asked if I had been convicted or involved in an offense involving moral turpitude.
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Ubiquitous (adj): being everywhere at the same time, omnipresent
The ants in my sister's home are quite ubiquitous; they are everywhere!
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Umbrage (n): offense; annoyance; displeasure; resentment
I tried not to take umbrage when classmates talked about my candidate without proper information.
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Unremitting (adj): not slackening or abating; relentless
The unremitting noise from the nearby airport made it difficult for us to go to sleep.
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Usurp (v): to seize wrongfully; hold by foce or without legal right
Both parties are constantly attempting to usurp each side's efforts in order to gain the public's favor.
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Vehement (adj): intense; forceful; zealous; ardent; impassioned
She was so vehement in her protests that she was frequently watched by the authorities.
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Veracity (n): truthfulness; habitual observance of truth in speech or statement
The jury could sense the veracity in the witness's testimony which eliminated any doubt in the defendant's guilt.
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Vex (v): to annoy; pester; irritate; provoke
The toddler years are when your child will vex you most with their constant fluctuations in temperament.
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Vilify (v): to speak ill of; defame; slander
The article sought to vilify the candidate with slanderous accusations.
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Virulent (adj): deadly, toxic; actively poisonous; intensely noxious
The new flu promises to be an especially virulent strain that may kill thousands if they are not vaccinated.
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Vitriolic (adj): caustic, full of bitterness
The Arabic leader's speech was riddled with vitriolic remarks about the United States in an effort to incite the crowd's anger.
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Vociferous (adj): boisterous, crying out noisily; clamorous
The fans were vociferous in their shouts and exclamations when the kicker scored the winning field goal.
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Volatile (adj): explosive, highly unstable; evaporating rapidly
The firemen warned us that we should not store gasoline in the garage because of its volatile nature.
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Voracious (adj): insatiable; craving or consuming large quantities
I have a voracious appetite for books--sometimes reading a book a day!
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