Words starting with S | Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) for GRE PDF Download

saga: a legend; any long story of adventure or heroic deed

The saga of King Arthur and his court has been told for generations.

sagacious: wise

Many of her friends came to her with their problems because she gave sagacious advice.
The old man gave sagacious advice.

salient: noticeable; prominent

What's salient about the report is its documentation of utter despair in the heartland of the richest nation on Earth.
His most salient feature is his nose.
His salient bruise will alert his mother to the altercation.

salubrious: promoting good health

Salubrious food helps maintain an ideal weight.
Exercising frequently and eating healthy foods are salubrious habits.

salutatory: of or containing greetings

Two messengers were sent to the new neighbors with a salutatory letter.

salvage: rescue from loss

The family tried to salvage their belongings after their home was destroyed by a tornado.

Sanction: an act of giving authoritative permission; to give encouragement; a blockade

The government has sanctioned the meetings as a worthy cause.
He did more than tolerate her actions, he sanctioned them.
Before committing troops to war, the president wanted to give the sanctions a chance to work.

sanguine: optimistic; cheerful; red

Even when victory seemed impossible, the general remained sanguine.
The dress was sanguine with a bright green border stripe.
With a sanguine nod the interviewee entered the office.

sapid: having a pleasant taste

Yellow and blue icing covered the sapid pastry.

sarcasm: ironic; bitter humor designed to wound

The teacher did not appreciate the student's sarcasm and gave him detention.

sardonic: having a sarcastic quality

H.L. Mencken was known for his sardonic writings on political figures.

satire: a novel or play that uses humor or irony to expose folly

The new play was a satire that exposed the President's inability to lead the country.

saturate: soak thoroughly; drench

She saturated the sponge with soapy water before she began washing the car.

saturnine: gloomy, sluggish

The never-ending rain put everyone in a saturnine mood.

saunter: to walk at a leisurely pace; stroll

The loving couple sauntered down the wooded path.

savant: one who is intelligent

The savant accepted his award of excellence.

savor: to receive pleasure from; to enjoy with appreciation; dwell on with delight

After several months without a day off, she savored every minute of her week-long vacation.

scanty: inadequate; sparse

The malnutrition was caused by the scanty amount of healthy food eaten each day.

schism: a division in an organized group

When the group could not decide on a plan of action, a schism occurred.

scourge: to whip severely

The trainer will scourge the animal if it attacks someone.

scrupulous: honorable; exact

After finding a purse with valuable items inside, the scrupulous Mr. Prendergast returned everything to its owner.
A scrupulous cleaning was conducted before the family moved.

scrutinize: examine closely; study

After allowing his son to borrow the family car, the father scrutinized every section for dents.

scurrilous: vulgarity

The scurrilous language made the mother twinge.

sectarian: to be narrow minded or limited

A sectarian precluded him from listening to the other side.

sedentary: characterized by sitting; remaining in one locality The sedentary child had not moved after two hours.

The old woman who never left her home town has led a sedentary life.

sedition: a revolt

The sedition by the guards ended with their being executed for treason.

sedulous: working diligently; persistent

The sedulous habits of the team will surely conclude in victory.
Only the most sedulous salespeople will succeed.

seethe: to be violently disturbed

By the time I arrived, she was seething with anger.
He seethed at the prospect of losing the business to his conniving uncle.

sequester: to separate or segregate

The jury was sequestered at the local inn.

serendipity: an apparent aptitude for making fortunate discoveries accidentally 

Serendipity seemed to follow the lucky winner where ever he went.

serrated: having a saw-toothed edge

While camping, the family used a serrated band saw to cut firewood.

servile: slavish; groveling

He knew they both possessed equal abilities, and yet he was always  treated as a servile underling.
His servile leadership forced her to take over.
The servile nurse did everything the doctor told her to do.

shady: a character of questionable honesty

A shady person would not be trusted with a sensitive secret.

shoal: a large group or crowd

Shoals of grain were stored in the barn.

shoddy: of inferior quality; cheap

The state's attorney said many homes, as they were built with shoddy materials, were bound to just blow apart even in winds of 60 or 70 miles per hour.
The shoddy homes were blown over in the storm.

sinuous: full of curves; twisting and turning

Sinuous mountain roads at night present extra danger at night when it's harder to see the road's edge.

skeptic: doubter

Even after seeing evidence that his competitor's new engine worked, the engineer remained a skeptic that it was marketable.

skulk: to move secretly, implies sinister

The thief skulked around the neighborhood hoping to find his next target.
They found the boy skulking in the bushes.
The woman attempted to skulk away from cleaning the house by hiring a cleaning service.

slander: defame; maliciously misrepresent

Orville said he'd been slandered, and he asked the court who would-or could- give him his name back.

sloth: disinclination to action or labor

Employers want to guard against hiring sloths as new employees.

slothful: lazy

The slothful actions of the player led to his benching.

slovenly: sloppy

His mother-in-law did not approve of his slovenly manner.

sodden: soggy; dull in action as if from alcohol

The flowers were sodden after the rain.
The sodden reaction of the man caused the accident.

sojourn: to stay temporarily

The family will sojourn at their summer home.
The guest remained only for a sojourn; she was going to leave in the afternoon.

solace: hope; comfort during a time of grief

When her father passed away, she found solace amongst her friends and family.

solemnity: a deep, reverent feeling often associated with religious occasions 

The church service was full of solemnity.
The solemnity of the funeral procession stood in stark contrast to the young children splashing with delight in a nearby pool.

solicit: ask; seek

The jobless man solicited employment from many factories before he was able to find work.

soliloquy: a talk one has with oneself (esp. on stage)

Imagine T.S. Eliot's poem The Waste Land performed on stage as a kind of soliloquy!
The soliloquy by the man standing alone on the cliff sent a message of regret.

solubility: that can be solved; that can be dissolved

The solubility of sugar causes it to disappear when put in water.

somber: dark and depressing; gloomy

The sad story had put everyone in a somber mood.

soporific: causing sleep

The soporific medication should not be taken when you need to drive.

sordid: filthy; base; vile

The sordid gutters needed to be cleaned after the long, rainy autumn.
The criminals thought patterns were so sordid that he was not granted parole.

sovereign: superior

The power was given to the sovereign warrior.

specious: plausible, but deceptive; apparently, but not actually, true 

The jury forewoman said the jury saw through the defense lawyer's specious argument and convicted his client on the weight of the evidence.
I was unsure of the meaning of the specious statement.

spelunker: one who studies caves

The spelunker made a startling discovery in the old mine.

spendthrift: a person who spends money extravagantly

The spendthrift bought two new necklaces and three pairs of shoes.

splenetic: marked by hostility

The splenetic warriors advanced with no thought of what they were destroying.

sporadic: rarely occurring or appearing; intermittent

In the desert there is usually only sporadic rainfall.

spurious: not genuine, false; bogus

Spurious claims by the importer hid the fact that prison labor had been used in the garments' fabrication.
The newspaper was notorious for spurious information.

Spurn: to push away; a strong rejection

The woman spurned the advances of her suitor, saying she wasn't ready for a commitment.
Unlucky enough to be the ninth telemarketer to call Jane that evening, he caught her spurn.

squalid: filthy; wretched (from squalor)

The lack of sanitation piping caused squalid conditions.
He makes good money, but I would never want to work in those squalid crawl spaces.

stagnant: motionless, uncirculating

The stagnant water in the puddle became infested with mosquitoes.

staid: marked by self-control

The horse was staid as it entered the stable.

stamina: endurance

Anybody who can finish the New York Marathon has lots of stamina.

stanch: to stop or check the flow of; staunch

It is necessary to stanch the bleeding from the wound as soon as possible.

stanza: group of lines in a poem having a definite pattern

The poet uses an odd simile in the second stanza of the poem.

static: inactive; changeless

The view while riding in the train across the endless, flat landscape remained static for days.
The static water of the lake reflected the image of the trees.

steadfast: loyal

The secret service agents are steadfast to their oath to protect the president.

stigma: a mark of disgrace

The "F" on his transcript is a stigma on his record.

stigmatize: to characterize or make as disgraceful

The gross error will stigmatize the worker as careless.

stipend: payment for work done

She receives a monthly stipend for her help with the project.
The bank will pay the woman a stipend of a hundred dollars a week.

stoic: detached; unruffled; calm; austere indifference to joy, grief, pleasure, or pain

The soldier had been in week after week of fierce battle; nonetheless, he remained stoic.
With stoic obedience the child sat quietly on the chair.

stoke: to feed fuel to; especially a fire

With the last embers dying, he stoked the fire one more time.

stolid: showing little emotion

With a stolid expression, the man walked away from the confrontation.

striated: having lines or grooves

The striated road was ready for traffic.

stridency: harshness or shrillness sound

The stridency of the whistle hurt the dog's ears.

strident: creaking; harsh, grating

Her strident voice hampered her chances of getting the announcer position.

stupor: a stunned or bewildered condition

He was in a stupor after being hit on the head.

stymie: to hinder or obstruct

Large amounts of snowfall will stymie the rescue effort.

suave: effortlessly gracious

She was a suave negotiator, always getting what she wanted without anyone feeling they'd lost anything.
The elegant woman entered the room with a suave walk.

subjugate: to dominate or enslave

The bully will attempt to subjugate the remainder of the class.
The royal family subjugated the peasants, making them perform hard labor.

subliminal: below the level of consciousness

Critics of advertising say that it's loaded with subliminal messages.

subsidiary: giving a service; being in a subordinate position

The function of the subsidiary was to oversee the bank's commercial loans.
He acknowledged the importance of the issue, but called it subsidiary to a host of other concerns.

substantive: existing independently of others; a large quantity

The only company not acquired in the merger retained its substantive existence.
A substantive amount of money will be needed to fund the project.

subsume: to include within a larger group

The AFL was subsumed by the NFL in the 1960s.

subtlety: propensity of understatement; so slight as to be barely noticeable

There was no subtlety in the protest; each person carried a sign and yelled for civil rights.
With great subtlety we slipped away from the boring party.

succinct: clearly stated; characterized by conciseness

The speech was succinct yet emotional.
Usually, the most succinct definition is the right one.
Articles in USA Today are so succinct that some observers nicknamed the newspaper "McPaper."

succor: aid; assistance

Succor was given to the fire victim in the form of clothes and temporary shelter.

succumb: give in; yield; collapse

When dieting, it is difficult not to succumb to temptation.

suffuse: to overspread

The rain will suffuse the spilled sand around the patio.

sumptuous: involving great expense

A sumptuous spread of meats, vegetables, soups and breads was prepared for the guests.

sunder: break; split in two

The Civil War threatened to sunder the United States.
Management seeks to sunder the workers' connections to the union.

sundry: various; miscellaneous; separate; distinct

This store sells many sundry novelty items.
Sundry items may be purchased as a single item.

superficial: on the surface, narrow minded; lacking depth

The victim had two stab wounds, but luckily were only superficial.

superfluous: unnecessary; extra

Although the designer considered the piece superfluous, the woman wanted the extra chair in her bedroom.
Only the first sentence is necessary; all of these details are superfluous.
After they finished their seven-course meal, a large dessert seemed superfluous.

superlative: of the highest kind or degree

The Golden Gate Bridge is a superlative example of civil engineering.

supplant: to take the place of

Can you supplant my position if I cannot play?

suppliant: asking earnestly and submissively

Her suppliant request of wanting to know the name of the man was met with a laugh.

suppress: to bring to an end; hold back

The illegal aliens were suppressed by the border patrol.

surfeit: excessively indulging; overindulgence

The teenagers were warned not to surfeit at the party.
The result of her surfeit was a week of regret.

surmise: a guess; to guess

Was my surmise correct?
I surmise that we will not
He surmised how the play would end before the second act began.

surpass: go beyond; out do

After recovering from a serious illness, the boy surpassed the doctor's expectations by leaving the hospital two days early.

surreptitious: done secretly

The surreptitious maneuvers gave the advancing army an advantage.

susceptible: easily imposed; inclined

She gets an annual flu shot since she is susceptible to becoming ill.

swathe: to wrap around something; envelop

Soft blankets swathe the new born baby.

sycophant: flatterer

Rodolfo honed his skills as a sycophant, hoping it would get him into Sylvia's good graces.
The sycophant is known for attending many parties.

syllogism: reasoning in order from general to particular

The syllogism went from fish to guppies.

symmetry: correspondence of parts; harmony

The roman columns give the building a symmetry.

synthetic: not real, rather artificial

The synthetic skin was made of a thin rubber.