Abject—Abject is often used to describe negative things and heighten the

negativity. You might see loneliness, poverty, or sadness described as being

abject. It describes the highest level of loneliness, poverty, or sadness a
person could reach.

Abode—Put simply, an abode is a place where people live. It could be

anything from a house, to a cave, to an apartment, to a van. If humans take
shelter there, it can be called an abode.

Abstract—When something is abstract, it isn’t concrete or tangible. It

might exist as an idea only (the concept of gravity is abstract), or it might
be something that you can touch but that represents ideas or feelings (like
abstract art, which is art that does not depict real items).

Acknowledge—To acknowledge someone or something is to notice it and

make sure it knows that it has been noticed. If a student raises her hand
during a lecture, a teacher may nod toward the student to acknowledge the
student. That is, the head nod says, “I see you have your hand raised. Just a
moment while I finish up my thought.”

Adapt—To adapt is to change to fit the situation. If a fish is switched to a

new tank, it may need a few days to adapt before going back to its more
normal patterns of existence.

Admonition—An admonition is the noun form of the word admonish.

Therefore, an admonition is the scolding you might receive if you have
done something wrong.

Affluent—To be affluent is to be very well off financially.

Agitate—To agitate means to work up or disturb. The big post that is

sometimes in the middle of a clothes washing machine is called an agitator
because it helps work the soap into a lather. You might also agitate a human
or animal by annoying them or frustrating them until they become all
worked up.

Aggrandize—If you notice the word grand in aggrandize, it may help you
remember how this word is used. Generally, to aggrandize something is to
make it grander; oftentimes people mentally aggrandize and think of things
as grander than they really are.

Aggregate—When discussing the aggregate (as a noun), you’re talking

about the whole, not the parts.
Aggregate can also be a verb in which you build up the parts to create a
whole.

Alternation—Alternating is simply taking turns. For example, you and

your sibling might alternate doing the dishes so that no one has to do them
two nights in a row. Alternation, then, is simply the noun form of the verb
alternate.

Amicable—To be amicable with other people means to get along with

them. It is a warm word often used to describe friendly, but not overly
friendly, relationships with coworkers, neighbors, and other acquaintances.

Analogous—When two things are analogous to each other, they can be

compared to one another. Often, this comparison will help clarify
something about one of the things being compared. Think of the word
analogy when thinking about what analogous means.

Analogy—An analogy is a comparison between two items using like or as.

Anomaly—An anomaly is something strange or out of the usual pattern of
things. If, for example, a very kind and sweet classmate lost their temper
just one time, you might call that occurrence an anomaly.

Antipathy—If you were to hate someone’s guts, you might say you felt
antipathy toward them. It is a very negative feeling toward another person
or thing.

Apparition—Apparition sounds like the word appear. An apparition is

something that suddenly appears. Oftentimes, ghosts and other supernatural
phenomena will be described as being apparitions.

Arbitrary—This word can usually be replaced with the word random.

Ascertain—To ascertain something is to find it out or confirm it. For

example, the police may hold a person for a certain amount of time while
they try to ascertain the details of the crime committed.

Aspire—If someone were to tell you to “aspire to higher things,” it might

be interpreted as “dream big.” Aspiring means working toward a lofty goal.

Autocratic—An autocrat is someone in charge who has all the power. The
czars in Russia, for example, were autocrats. There was no governmental
power outside of them. Autocratic, then, is the adjectival form of autocrat—
it can be used to describe someone who is acting like an autocrat.

Automated—Think about the word automatic. Automated means

something has been changed to make it now automatic where as previously
it was not. For example, a dishwasher would automate the dishwashing
process.

Beget—When you beget something, it means you take steps to bring that
thing into existence. It can also refer to an action that leads to something.
You might say that if you pass around a petition to bring chicken nuggets
back to the cafeteria, you are trying to beget change. (Don’t mess this word
up with the similar-sounding word baguette, which is a long, thin loaf of
French bread).

Benevolent—To be benevolent is to be kind. Quite often, this word is used

to describe elderly people who are willing to give away all they have and
charities that work to better people’s lives by giving.

Bestow—To bestow something is to give it to someone. This is often use

when giving titles and other honors.

Biological—Biology is the study of life; biological is describing something

related to the study of life or related to life itself. For example, if you are
infected with bacteria, you could call how your body reacts a biological
response.

Calibrate—To calibrate something is to adjust it so that it runs the way it

should. This is especially applicable to machines that have readouts. If your
car’s speedometer tells you that you’re going 30 miles per hour when
you’re really going 55 miles per hour, then you need to have your
speedometer calibrated.

Calisthenics—Calisthenics are a type of exercise that rely on body weight.

They include push-ups, sit-ups, jumping jacks, and other simple movements
that require no equipment.
Capacity—The capacity of something is a measure of its ability. A room
has a maximum capacity, which says how many people can be in that room.
A car may have the capacity to go 150 miles per hour. A person could have
the capacity to handle a difficult situation.

Celestial—When something is celestial, it has to do with outer space.

Censure—To censure someone is to give them a formal reprimand. Quite

often, governments hand out censures to their members for having done
something wrong, but not necessarily illegal.

Circulation—Circulation is quite often thought of in relation to blood

moving through the body, but it can refer to anything moving back and
forth or around in a predictable pattern.

Coerce—To coerce someone is to get them to do something by threat of

force.

Cognition—Cognition is the ability to understand something. When people

get older and develop dementia, quite often their cognition is negatively
impacted.

Colloquial—The word colloquial almost always describes language.

Colloquial language is everyday language. In English, for example, you
probably use a lot of colloquial language with your friends, but likely speak
a bit more properly to teachers and other adults.

Commercial—Commercial has to do with the buying and selling of goods.

For example, if you begin a commercial enterprise, you are likely setting
out to go into business to buy, sell, create, or distribute goods.
Complementary—When something is complementary, it goes well with
the thing around it.

Complimentary—Something that is provided free of charge. Also, a

compliment is a nice thing to say about someone.

Conflate—Oftentimes, we are warned not to conflate things. This means

we need to keep the two things separate and not assume that they are the
same idea. For example, in history class you may conflate the feminist
movement and the suffragette movement. While they have some
similarities, they aren’t the same thing.

Conjure—To conjure is to bring something up. When telling a scary story,

you may conjure up images that are terrifying to the listeners.

Consensus—When everyone agrees, there is a consensus.

Consequence—Consequences are the results of an action taken. There can

be positive consequences, but more often this word is used to indicate a
negative result or a punishment for negative actions.

Conservator—A conservator is a person whose job it is to conserve or

preserve something. This word could also be used to just mean a general
guardian.

Constitution—We are likely all familiar with the governmental term

constitution. But this word can also apply to someone’s bodily health or
how something is put together. Any of those three meanings could pop up
on the SAT.

Contingent—When something is contingent, it is relying on other factors

to come to be. An outdoor field trip, for example, might be contingent on
the weather.

Conventional—When something is conventional, it follows the traditional

rules that are set up. For example, a bride wearing white is very
conventional while a bride wearing bright red would be unconventional.

Convey—To convey something is to get it across. You could convey a tin

of cookies safely from your grandmother to your mother. If you are an
effective public speaker, you can convey ideas from your mind to the minds
of others.

Convoke—Generally, the word convoke means to call a meeting.

Convulsion—To convulse is a physical movement. Think of a person

having a seizure—all of their muscles are convulsing. They are therefore
having convulsions.

Cooperatively—You likely know the word cooperate. Cooperatively just

means working in a cooperative manner.

Cultivate—To cultivate something is to bring it up or to try to make it grow

or exist. Farmers cultivate crops. Your teachers try to cultivate in you a love
of learning.

Dawdle—To dawdle is to lag behind.

Decipher—To decipher something is to figure it out. A spy might decipher

a special code, for instance.
Deficient—When something is deficient, it isn’t enough; it is lacking
something. In the winter, people are often vitamin D deficient due to
spending too much time indoors.

Degrade—To degrade is to break something down slowly over time.

Demur—To demur is to politely say no to something or avoid it.

Desolation—Desolation is total abandonment, emptiness, and destruction.

Desolation occurs when everything of value and everything alive is
destroyed.

Despoil—Despoil is related to the phrase the spoils of war. The spoils of

war are the things that invaders would take from the inhabitants upon
victory. Pretty much anything of worth would be looted or plundered. To
despoil is the act of taking away anything of value.

Deter—To deter someone is to stop them from doing something.

Disenfranchise—To disenfranchise is to take away someone’s right to vote,

or prevent them from using it.

Disparity—A disparity is an inequality or a difference between two things.

For instance, there may be a disparity between the posted rules in a
classroom and the rules that are actually enforced.

Disseminate—To disseminate is to pass out or to ensure the spread of

something (quite often information).

Dissimilar—Things that are dissimilar are not the same (not similar).

Diverge—When two things move apart, they diverge. (This is the opposite
of when two things come together, which is when they converge.)

Doctrine—A doctrine is a sincerely held belief, often of the religious

variety, but also political or other beliefs as well.

Doldrums—The word doldrums is often used to describe a time in which

nothing happens. It is also used in sailing to describe an area of water that is
not moving in which a sail boat would be trapped. Doldrums are never a
good thing and can sometimes even be used to describe depression,
boredom, and other negative mental states.

Domestic—When something is described as domestic, it is related to the

home. If someone hires domestic help, they are likely hiring someone to
help take care of their house or something in it. It could be a gardener,
maid, or cook.

Dominion—Dominion is control or authority over someone or something.

Dubious—To be dubious is to be doubtful and uncertain.

Earnest—When someone is earnest, they are showing that they are serious.
They really believe what they are saying and they find it important that you
understand that.

Eddy—An eddy is when water or air moves swiftly in a circular motion.

Effectual—The word effectual means that the desired result has been
achieved through that action.

Efficacy—The efficacy of something is how effective that thing is.

Efficient—When something is efficient, it is done in the most direct way
possible using the least amount of time and resources to get the best result.

Embellish—To embellish is to add details or flair to something—either

verbally or physically.

Emit—Emit means to give off.

Empathize—When you empathize with someone, you feel what they’re

feeling. You might empathize with a friend who had a terrible grade on a
test, or with a family who needs some help getting enough food for a
holiday meal.

Endearing—When people are endearing, they create warm feelings toward

themselves. A person may have an endearing smile that makes you like
them and feel kindly toward them.

Endeavor—To endeavor is to try something. It can also be used as a noun,

meaning “a try.”

Endow—To endow is to give. Quite often, this term is used to describe

massive donations given to charities upon the death of a wealthy person. It
can also talk about rights given to people just because of their birth or
citizenship.

Enhance—To enhance something is to make it better or clearer. An

umbrella enhances your experience of walking in the rain. Prescription
glasses enhance your eyesight.

Enterprise—When you set out to do something, the process of doing it is

an enterprise. This word often refers to big or difficult tasks. Think about
the starship Enterprise from Star Trek—it has a very difficult mission: “To
explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and new civilizations. To
boldly go where no man has gone before.”

Entice—To entice someone is to convince them to do something through

the promise of reward (as opposed to coerce, which is through promise of
harm). A cat can be enticed to come out from under the bed with a treat.

Entrenched—To be entrenched means to be dug in, to refuse to move,

especially when it comes to thoughts and ideas. Think about how armies
use trenches. They dig trenches, and then they can’t easily move from the
trenches without risking harm. The word entrenched comes from that idea.

Ephemeral—Something ephemeral is very short-lived. It is fleeting and

quickly gone.

Evince—Evince is generally a verb meaning to show one’s feelings.

Expenditure—An expenditure is a spending of money or other resources.

Explanatory—When something is explanatory, it explains something.

Extensive—When something is extensive, it is widespread or far-reaching.

You might also say it is thorough.

Feature—A feature is a part of an item that is designed for a specific use.

One feature of my car, for example, is a stereo system.

Feeble—To be feeble is to be weak.

Fetter—To fetter is to hold someone or something back from what they

want to do or accomplish.
Finite—Finite is the opposite of infinite. When something is finite, it has a
definitive beginning and ending.

Fiscal—When people describe things as fiscal (like the fiscal year), they
are talking about money and the economy.

Florid—Generally describing a person’s face, this adjective means red or

flushed.

Former—Former refers to the one before or in the past. The former

president used to be the president, for example. If I give you two options
and you choose the former, then you have chosen the first one that was
given.

Forum—A forum is a location or a meeting where people can talk about

their thoughts, ideas, and opinions.

Frantic—Frantic could also be expressed as desperate. When you are

frantic about something, there is urgency to do all you can as you try to
solve the problem.

Frequent—Frequent simply means often. When something happens

frequently, it happens all the time.

Fundamental—Fundamentals are basics. The fundamentals of reading

would be learning the alphabet and phonics. The fundamentals of baseball
are throwing, catching, and hitting.

Germinate—To germinate something is to take something with potential

and make it start to grow. Quite often this term is used with seeds.
Glom—To glom is to attach to something (often in a blob-like manner).

Glut—A glut is a ridiculous abundance of something. It’s having so much

of something you don’t even know what to do with it.

Grievance—A grievance is a complaint. Think of it as something you

would grieve over—something that makes you sad.

Haggle—Haggling is the process two people go through as they exchange

offers back and forth while trying to make a deal.

Ignominious—Something that is ignominious is undignified—it will likely

cause the person experiencing it to feel shame or embarrassment.

Illegible—When something is illegible, it is unable to be read or

understood.

Immured—When someone is immured, they are held against their will in

some way, often enclosed.

Impel—To impel is to push or force someone to do something in some way.

Inapplicable—When something doesn’t apply in a given situation, it is

inapplicable. For example, you may have the quadratic equation
memorized, which is great; however, that equation is inapplicable to many
non-quadratic math problems.

Incomprehensible—Something that is incomprehensible is unable to be

comprehended or understood.

Incontestable—Incontestable means unable to be contested. In other

words, you can’t dispute it or go against it.
Incorporate—To incorporate is to fully include something. For example,
you might incorporate an explanation of climate change into a paper on
Antarctica.

Incredulous—When you’re incredulous of something, you don’t really

believe it, or you have doubts about it.

Indifference—Indifference is that feeling of not feeling strongly about

something one way or the other. You might feel indifference toward which
teacher you get, or what you have for lunch, or any number of things.

Indistinguishable—When two things are indistinguishable, they can’t be

told apart from one another: There are no distinguishing features.

Ineffective—When something is ineffective, it doesn’t work. It doesn’t

have the effect it should.

Inefficacious—This is pretty much the same as the previous word.

Inefficacious just means not having the desired effect.

Inexorable—Inexorable is kind of like inevitable. It can’t be avoided or

stopped—it will occur no matter what.

Ingenious—For some reason, ingenious and genius mean the same thing.

Innumerable—When something is innumerable, it is unable to be counted.

You’ll notice num hidden away—this is also the root of the word number.

Institution—An institution is an organization that has been created to fulfill

a purpose (generally for the greater good). For example, governments,
churches, and schools can all be examples of institutions. Generally,
institutions are thought of as permanent or nearly impossible to get rid of.

Insurrection—An insurrection is a revolt or an uprising.

Integrate—To integrate two or more things is to mix them together.

Intend—Intend has to do with intentions. It’s what you mean to do, not
what you actually do. Every new year, many people intend to form new
habits; what actually happens is a different story.

Intermittent—Intermittent just means off and on at a set interval.

Intuitive—When something is intuitive, it is easy to use and figure out

without directions. You can go based on your gut feeling and probably get it
right.

Inherent—When something is inherent, it wasn’t learned or created; it is

naturally occurring. For example, some animals have an inherent fear of
predators. You may have an inherent love of the color green or hatred of the
smell of tomatoes.

Insolent—You might well get in trouble for acting insolent at school. Such
behavior shows a general bad attitude, lack of respect, and overall
grumpiness.

Intolerable—When something is intolerable, you simply can’t put up with

(or tolerate) it.

Invasive—Think of the word invade. When something is invasive, it

invades something or goes somewhere it isn’t wanted.

Inversion—To invert something is to turn it upside down. An inversion is

the noun form of that word and means the act of turning upside down.

Irk—When something irks you, it annoys you, but not in a major way.
Someone leaving a dirty dish out, taking the middle piece of cake, not using
their turn signal in traffic, or failing to do what they promised may irk you.

Labyrinth—Quite simply, a labyrinth is a maze.

Laden—To be laden is to be weighed down with something physically. A

shopping cart might be laden with groceries, for instance.

Latter—Latter is the opposite of former. Former is the first thing

mentioned, latter is the second or last.

Liaison—This is often used to mean a close connection or relationship. It

can also mean a person who facilitates understanding between parties.

Magnitude—The magnitude of something is how big it is.

Malice—Malice (mal at the beginning of the word means bad) is generally

used to describe the feeling of one person wishing to do something harmful
to another person.

Malign—To malign someone is to say terrible things about them.

Manifest—This can mean a variety of things. As a noun, it is a complete

list. As a verb, it means to make appear or to make clear. As an adjective, it
means obvious or clear.

Manipulate—To manipulate something or someone is to change them to

your liking. You might manipulate your parent’s opinion on where to eat by
casually mentioning pizza several times during the day. You might also
manipulate clay into the shape of a vase.

Mantra—A mantra is something that people repeat over and over to

themselves in the hopes that it becomes true or as a means toward achieving
a goal.

Marginalize—This word refers to the action of making something less,

often when it shouldn’t be. A person’s feelings may be marginalized or
brushed away as not important.

Meander—To meander is to wander in a non-straight line and with little or

no haste or purpose.

Mechanization—Mechanization is when something that used to be done by

hand is now done by a machine.

Meddle—To meddle is to tamper with something, often human situations

or emotions.

Metastasize—When something metastasizes, it is spreading.

Mire—To mire is to stick something down. When someone or something is

mired, it can’t be freed, but is stuck in a sticky situation either figuratively
or literally.

Monotony—Monotony is the same thing over and over again.

Motivation—Motivation is what drives you. It’s the feeling inside that

makes you start that project, run that extra mile, or take the extra shift.

Mundane—Something that is mundane is boring and normal. It’s a regular

everyday occurrence.
Mutable—Think about the math term permutation. A permutation has to do
with all the different ways a set of numbers can be changed and rearranged
into different orders. That root word mut generally has to do with change.
Mutable describes something that is easy to or likely to change. Other
words you might know with this root include mutate and commute.

Mystify—To mystify just means to confuse. Think about the word mystery
with the same root. A mystery is confusing—mystifying someone confuses
them.

Net—In describing pay, net pay is what is left after all taxes and fees are
removed. In scientific terms, it could be what is left after all other
considerations are removed. For example, when you weigh something and
you remove the weight of the container, you are left with the net weight of
what is in the container.

Notation—You know the word note; what you probably didn’t realize is
that it’s a shortened version of notation. It’s something you write to help
you remember something or to convey information to another person.

Nuance—A nuance is a subtle difference in the meaning or expression of

something.

Null—Null means nothing; it’s just another way of saying zero.

Obliterate—To obliterate something is to completely and utterly destroy it

beyond recognition.

Obstinate—Obstinate is just the same as stubborn. It means refusing to

give up even when wrong or faced with insurmountable forces against you.
Oscillate—To oscillate is to move back and forth in a predictable pattern at
a set speed. The pendulum in a grandfather clock is a classic example of
oscillation.

Onerous—When something is onerous it is difficult to do, usually taking a

lot of unpleasant work to complete.

Panacea—A panacea is a fix-all solution.

Parasitic—Something that is parasitic attaches to something else and feeds

off of it without giving anything back. This might be used to describe an
actual parasite (like a tapeworm) or a person like the friend who always
borrows money, but never returns it.

Parity—Parity is equalness or being equal. It is the opposite of disparity,

which is inequality.

Paradox—A paradox is something that contradicts itself or sets up an

impossible train of thought that never ends but always circles back on itself.

Partake—To partake is the same as to participate. It is often used with food

(to partake in a meal is to eat it) but can also be used with any given
activity.

Paternal—To be paternal is to act in a fatherly way. Paternal can also be

used to describe things relating to fathers.

Permeate—To permeate is to soak through something, invading and

saturating every part of it and leaving nothing untouched. Water permeates
things in a flood, and smells permeate rooms and homes.

Permutation—Remember the word mutable from above? Permutation has

that same mut syllable indicating it’s about change. Permutation has to do
with all the different ways a set of items can be arranged in different orders.
In how many ways can the order be changed?

Perpetual—Something that is perpetual is never-ending.

Perspective—Your perspective is how you see things both literally

(different seats in a theater have different perspectives of the stage) and
figuratively (you and your parent may have different perspectives on your
staying up until 3 A.M.).

Perturb—To perturb is to disturb, but in an emotional way. A scary book

or a strange person may perturb.

Pervading—Pervading or pervade are often used as synonyms for

permeate. Something (especially a smell) can be pervading when it
permeates an area where it is not welcome.

Phenomena—Phenomena is the plural of the word phenomenon. A

phenomenon is something that is known to exist or occur, the cause of
which is often not clear. Planes going down in the Bermuda triangle is a
well-known phenomenon.

Pittance—A pittance is a pitiably small amount: not really enough to do

anything with.

Plasticity—The plasticity of something is its ability to change and be

molded.

Plenipotentiary—A plenipotentiary is a person who has been given the

authority to act on behalf of their country in foreign countries. Diplomats
often act in this role, though true plenipotentiary power is rare.
Posterity—Posterity is the future of humankind: all of the people who will
come in the future.

Postulate—To postulate is to guess or to present an idea that is not proven.

A TV personality may postulate that a certain person will be elected.

Potent—Potent means very strong. Not physically, but of a high

concentration. A smell or taste, for example, may be very potent.

Prattle—To prattle is to talk on and on while saying little of value.

Predecessor—The predecessor to something or someone is what came

before. This word is often used to describe a person who held an office or
job prior to the current office or job holder.

Preposterous—Something that is preposterous is so ridiculous as to be

laughable.

Primitive—Something that is primitive is very basic and not

technologically advanced. For example, some might see flag signaling as a
primitive form of long-distance communication.

Pristine—Something that is pristine is untouched and perfect. It is

completely unmarred in any way.

Proliferate—To proliferate is to grow, spread, and reproduce, often at a

high rate of speed. Rumors tend to proliferate within schools, as do germs.

Promulgate—To promulgate an idea is to spread it around. There are a lot

of programs, for example, that promulgate anti-bullying messages to
students.

Province—A province is a geographical area under a government. Many

countries have a province system instead of having states.

Proxy—A proxy is a substitute. A person standing in for another person

can generally be called a proxy. In some situations, formal events like
voting, getting married, and signing contracts can be done by proxy.

Psychological—Things that are psychological have to do with the inner

workings of our minds, which affect our feelings, emotions, and actions.

Quarrel—To quarrel is to argue with someone. A quarrel is an argument.

Rapacious—Someone who is rapacious is unable to be satisfied. They are

very greedy and always looking to gain more of what they want.

Receptive—A person who is receptive is open to receiving things, quite

often ideas.

Redress—Don’t get tricked into thinking this word means to get dressed
again. Instead, it means to fix or make a situation right where someone has
been wronged.

Reluctant—To be reluctant is to act on the feeling of not wanting to do

something. If you end up doing the thing, you do it in a manner that shows
that you don’t want to be doing it.

Remonstrate—To remonstrate is to object to something strongly or to

speak out against something strongly.

Repression—Repression is the act of holding something down or back,

especially ideas and movements.

Reverence—Reverence means showing great respect or a deep appreciation

for something.

Rhetoric—Rhetoric is the way in which people speak and argue to convey

their points. Different people may have different styles of rhetoric: They
may ask questions, they may use persuasive language, they may yell, they
may trick. All of those are types of rhetoric.

Sanction—Sanction is a very interesting word as it has seemingly opposite

meanings. Make sure you pay very close attention to the context.
Sometimes sanction refers to officially approving or allowing something to
happen. The school might sanction a dance, meaning it’s officially approved
by the administration. However, sanctions can also be negative—a penalty
for something done that is bad. Usually the context of negative sanctions is
legal; when the word is used in this manner, it often refers to one country
placing sanctions on another country for things like human rights violations.

Scuttling—Scuttling is a very specific type of movement. It’s moving very

quickly with tiny (often not smooth) steps. Think about how crabs may run
along a beach—they’re almost always scuttling.

Scenario—A scenario is the setup for a work of fiction, a book, movie, or

play. It can also be any imagined situation that people put themselves in,
such as discussing what could happen in the future or things that should
have happened in the past.

Seamless—Think of a shirt without seams—it’s completely smooth and has

no breaks in the fabric. When something is seamless, it is very smooth. This
word is often used as a synonym for flawless.
Sentiment—A sentiment is how you feel or what you say about something
that has occurred.

Sentinel—A sentinel is a soldier whose job it is to keep watch over

something.

Sequence—A sequence is the order that things are in or the order that they
should be in.

Shingled—Something described as shingled would have the same layered

look as the shingles on a roof.

Skeptic—A skeptic is someone who is skeptical, or doubtful, of something.

Sluggish—When described as sluggish, things are slow or moving like a

slug.

Squalid—When described as squalid, things are run down, dirty, and often
infested with vermin. This is often the result of war or poverty.

Squelch—Squelch is an onomatopoeia; the word means the sound it makes.

Squelch is the sound that might be made if you tried to pull your foot out of
thick mud or if you stepped on a slug.

Stagnate—To stagnate is to stop moving forward. This is generally not

physical movement.

Stewardship—A steward is someone who takes care of something.

Stewardship, then, is the noun form of the act of taking care of something.

Stupefied—To be stupefied is to be made temporarily stupid. This

generally happens if something really sudden or unexpected occurs.
Subjugate—To subjugate a person or group of people is to put them under
your total control. This is especially applicable in war-time situations when
entire populations are conquered and subjugated.

Subordinate—Someone who is subordinate is lower in status, usually in a

workplace. A worker is subordinate to the boss.

Subsequent—Something that is subsequent comes after something else.

For example, my birthday is subsequent to that of my older sibling.

Substantial—When something is substantial, it is not insignificant, but

almost the opposite. It is of an important size or amount.

Sufficient—When something is described as sufficient, it means that it is

enough.

Supplemental—Something that is supplemental adds something

unnecessary, but helpful, to something else. There may be supplemental
information at the end of a chapter. A family may pay for a vacation with
supplemental income from a part-time job.

Sustenance—Sustenance is what sustains a person. Generally, this is used

as a fancy word for food.

Swayed—To sway is to move slightly back and forth. However, this term
can be used figuratively as well as literally. In an argument, you may have
swayed your opponent. They didn’t actually move back and forth, but
maybe their opinions moved slightly.

Symmetric—Something that is symmetric is the same on both sides. For

example, if a person has a symmetrical face, then the left and right sides of
their face would be identical.

Synthetic—Something that is synthetic is made artificially, not naturally.

Sullen—To be sullen is to be grumpy and unenthusiastic. It is a type of bad

mood wherein you do things only under protest. You might think of it as
being related to sulking.

Tactile—Something that is tactile has to do with the sense of touch. A

tactile sensation, for example, is a sensation of being touched in some way.

Tangible—Something that is tangible can be seen and touched (as

compared to the opposite intangible).

Tedious—Something that is tedious is repetitive and boring. It takes a long

time and doesn’t engage the mind.

Tout—To tout is to aggressively try to sell something, to sing its praises to

get someone to buy it.

Transaction—When something is a transaction, it has something to do with

the purchase or exchange of goods or services.

Transit—To transit is to move from one place to another. As a noun, transit

can also refer to a network of public busses, trains, and streetcars.

Traipsing—When one is traipsing, they are coming and going or moving in

a carefree manner.

Tributary—A tributary is a stream or river upstream that feeds into a

bigger river.
Ubiquitous—When something is ubiquitous, it is found everywhere. It is
common.

Unassuming—When something or someone is unassuming, they are

unthreatening and down to earth.

Unrequited—When feelings are unrequited, they are not returned in kind.

This word is often used to describe one-sided love.

Unseemly—Something that is unseemly might otherwise be described as

inappropriate for the situation.

Unstinting—Something that is unstinting is given without pause or second

thought.

Unveil—To unveil is to reveal. Think of a bride walking down the aisle

wearing her veil and then removing her veil to reveal her face to the groom.

Usurp—To usurp is to overthrow. This word is often used to discuss

overthrowing governments and other authorities.

Validate—To validate something is to say that it is valid, true, or accurate.

Quite often, businesses will validate parking. That is, they’ll stamp the
parking ticket to indicate that the person who parked had a true reason to be
there.

Vantage—Vantage is a spot with a good view to see what needs to be seen.

Verifiable—Something that is verifiable is able to be verified, or proven

correct. Facts are generally verifiable while opinions are not.
Vernacular—The vernacular is the common or slang terms that people in a
given community use.

Versatile—Something that is versatile can be used in many different ways.

Vestigial—Something that is vestigial is a small left-behind part of

something much bigger.

Virtuous—Something that is virtuous has virtue, or a high sense of

morality.

Wayside—The wayside is exactly what it sounds like, the side of the road.
This term is also often used in a figurative sense.

Yearning—Yearning is to want something with all your heart. To crave it at

the expense of all else.