IELTS Exam Vocabulary List - S
- sacrifice v. To make an offering of to deity, especially by presenting on an altar.
- sacrificial adj. Offering or offered as an atonement for sin.
- sacrilege n. The act of violating or profaning anything sacred.
- sacrilegious adj. Impious.
- safeguard v. To protect.
- sagacious adj. Able to discern and distinguish with wise perception.
- salacious adj. Having strong sexual desires.
- salience n. The condition of standing out distinctly.
- salient adj. Standing out prominently.
- saline adj. Constituting or consisting of salt.
- salutary adj. Beneficial.
- salutation n. Any form of greeting, hailing, or welcome, whether by word or act.
- salutatory n. The opening oration at the commencement in American colleges.
- salvage n. Any act of saving property.
- salvo n. A salute given by firing all the guns, as at the funeral of an officer.
- sanctimonious adj. Making an ostentatious display or hypocritical pretense of holiness or piety.
- sanction v. To approve authoritatively.
- sanctity n. Holiness.
- sanguinary adj. Bloody.
- sanguine adj. Having the color of blood.
- sanguineous adj. Consisting of blood.
- sapid adj. Affecting the sense of taste.
- sapience n. Deep wisdom or knowledge.
- sapient adj. Possessing wisdom.
- sapiential adj. Possessing wisdom.
- saponaceous adj. Having the nature or quality of soap.
- sarcasm n. Cutting and reproachful language.
- sarcophagus n. A stone coffin or a chest-like tomb.
- sardonic adj. Scornfully or bitterly sarcastic.
- satiate v. To satisfy fully the appetite or desire of.
- satire n. The employment of sarcasm, irony, or keenness of wit in ridiculing vices.
- satiric adj. Resembling poetry, in which vice, incapacity ,or corruption is held up to ridicule.
- satirize v. To treat with sarcasm or derisive wit.
- satyr n. A very lascivious person.
- savage n. A wild and uncivilized human being.
- savor v. To perceive by taste or smell.
- scabbard n. The sheath of a sword or similar bladed weapon.
- scarcity n. Insufficiency of supply for needs or ordinary demands.
- scholarly adj. Characteristic of an erudite person.
- scholastic adj. Pertaining to education or schools.
- scintilla n. The faintest ray.
- scintillate v. To emit or send forth sparks or little flashes of light.
- scope n. A range of action or view.
- scoundrel n. A man without principle.
- scribble n. Hasty, careless writing.
- scribe n. One who writes or is skilled in writing.
- script n. Writing or handwriting of the ordinary cursive form.
- Scriptural adj. Pertaining to, contained in, or warranted by the Holy Scriptures.
- scruple n. Doubt or uncertainty regarding a question of moral right or duty.
- scrupulous adj. Cautious in action for fear of doing wrong.
- scurrilous adj. Grossly indecent or vulgar.
- scuttle v. To sink (a ship) by making holes in the bottom.
- scythe n. A long curved blade for mowing, reaping, etc.
- séance n. A meeting of spirituals for consulting spirits.
- sear v. To burn on the surface.
- sebaceous adj. Pertaining to or appearing like fat.
- secant adj. Cutting, especially into two parts.
- secede v. To withdraw from union or association, especially from a political or religious body.
- secession n. Voluntary withdrawal from fellowship, especially from political or religious bodies.
- seclude v. To place, keep, or withdraw from the companionship of others.
- seclusion n. Solitude.
- secondary adj. Less important or effective than that which is primary.
- secondly adv. In the second place in order or succession.
- second-rate adj. Second in quality, size, rank, importance, etc.
- secrecy n. Concealment.
- secretary n. One who attends to correspondence, keeps records. or does other writing for others.
- secretive adj. Having a tendency to conceal.
- sedate adj. Even-tempered.
- sedentary adj. Involving or requiring much sitting.
- sediment n. Matter that settles to the bottom of a liquid.
- sedition n. Conduct directed against public order and the tranquility of the state.
- seditious adj. Promotive of conduct directed against public order and the tranquility of the state.
- seduce v. To entice to surrender chastity.
- sedulous adj. Persevering in effort or endeavor.
- seer n. A prophet.
- seethe v. To be violently excited or agitated.
- seignior n. A title of honor or respectful address, equivalent to sir.
- seismograph n. An instrument for recording the phenomena of earthquakes.
- seize v. To catch or take hold of suddenly and forcibly.
- selective adj. Having the power of choice.
- self-respect n. Rational self-esteem.
- semblance n. Outward appearance.
- semicivilized adj. Half-civilized.
- semiconscious adj. Partially conscious.
- semiannual adj. Recurring at intervals of six months.
- semicircle n. A half-circle.
- seminar n. Any assemblage of pupils for real research in some specific study under a teacher.
- seminary n. A special school, as of theology or pedagogics.
- senile adj. Peculiar to or proceeding from the weakness or infirmity of old age.
- sensation n. A condition of mind resulting from spiritual or inherent feeling.
- sense n. The signification conveyed by some word, phrase, or action.
- sensibility n. Power to perceive or feel.
- sensitive adj. Easily affected by outside operations or influences.
- sensorium n. The sensory apparatus.
- sensual adj. Pertaining to the body or the physical senses.
- sensuous adj. Having a warm appreciation of the beautiful or of the refinements of luxury.
- sentence n. A related group of words containing a subject and a predicate and expressing a complete thought.
- sentience n. Capacity for sensation or sense-perception.
- sentient adj. Possessing the power of sense or sense-perception.
- sentinel n. Any guard or watch stationed for protection.
- separable adj. Capable of being disjoined or divided.
- separate v. To take apart.
- separatist n. A seceder.
- septennial adj. Recurring every seven years.
- sepulcher n. A burial-place.
- sequacious adj. Ready to be led.
- sequel n. That which follows in consequence of what has previously happened.
- sequence n. The order in which a number or persons, things, or events follow one another in space or time.
- sequent adj. Following in the order of time.
- sequester v. To cause to withdraw or retire, as from society or public life.
- sequestrate v. To confiscate.
- sergeant n. A non-commissioned military officer ranking next above a corporal.
- sergeant-at-arms n. An executive officer in legislative bodies who enforces the orders of the presiding officer.
- sergeant-major n. The highest non-commissioned officer in a regiment.
- service n. Any work done for the benefit of another.
- serviceable adj. Durable.
- servitude n. Slavery.
- severance n. Separation.
- severely adv. Extremely.
- sextet n. A band of six singers or players.
- sextuple adj. Multiplied by six.
- sheer adj. Absolute.
- shiftless adj. Wanting in resource, energy, or executive ability.
- shrewd adj. Characterized by skill at understanding and profiting by circumstances.
- shriek n. A sharp, shrill outcry or scream, caused by agony or terror.
- shrinkage n. A contraction of any material into less bulk or dimension.
- shrivel v. To draw or be drawn into wrinkles.
- shuffle n. A mixing or changing the order of things.
- sibilance n. A hissing sound.
- sibilant adj. Made with a hissing sound.
- sibilate v. To give a hissing sound to, as in pronouncing the letter s.
- sidelong adj. Inclining or tending to one side.
- sidereal adj. Pertaining to stars or constellations.
- siege n. A beleaguerment.
- significance n. Importance.
- significant adj. Important, especially as pointing something out.
- signification n. The meaning conveyed by language, actions, or signs.
- similar adj. Bearing resemblance to one another or to something else.
- simile n. A comparison which directs the mind to the representative object itself.
- similitude n. Similarity.
- simplify v. To make less complex or difficult.
- simulate v. Imitate.
- simultaneous adj. Occurring, done, or existing at the same time.
- sinecure n. Any position having emoluments with few or no duties.
- singe v. To burn slightly or superficially.
- sinister adj. Evil.
- sinuosity n. The quality of curving in and out.
- sinuous adj. Curving in and out.
- sinus n. An opening or cavity.
- siren n. A sea-nymph, described by Homer as dwelling between the island of Circe and Scylla.
- sirocco n. hot winds from Africa.
- sisterhood n. A body of sisters united by some bond of sympathy or by a religious vow.
- skeptic n. One who doubts any statements.
- skepticism n. The entertainment of doubt concerning something.
- skiff n. Usually, a small light boat propelled by oars.
- skirmish n. Desultory fighting between advanced detachments of two armies.
- sleight n. A trick or feat so deftly done that the manner of performance escapes observation.
- slight adj. Of a small importance or significance.
- slothful adj. Lazy.
- sluggard n. A person habitually lazy or idle.
- sociable adj. Inclined to seek company.
- socialism n. A theory of civil polity that aims to secure the reconstruction of society.
- socialist adj. One who advocates reconstruction of society by collective ownership of land and capital.
- sociology n. The philosophical study of society.
- Sol n. The sun.
- solace n. Comfort in grief, trouble, or calamity.
- solar adj. Pertaining to the sun.
- solder n. A fusible alloy used for joining metallic surfaces or margins.
- soldier n. A person engaged in military service.
- solecism n. Any violation of established rules or customs.
- solicitor n. One who represents a client in court of justice; an attorney.
- solicitude n. Uneasiness of mind occasioned by desire, anxiety, or fear.
- soliloquy n. A monologue.
- solstice n. The time of year when the sun is at its greatest declination.
- soluble adj. Capable of being dissolved, as in a fluid.
- solvent adj. Having sufficient funds to pay all debts.
- somber adj. Gloomy.
- somniferous adj. Tending to produce sleep.
- somnolence n. Oppressive drowsiness.
- somnolent adj. Sleepy.
- sonata n. An instrumental composition.
- sonnet n. A poem of fourteen decasyllabic or octosyllabiclines expressing two successive phrases.
- sonorous adj. Resonant.
- soothsayer n. One who claims to have supernatural insight or foresight.
- sophism n. A false argument understood to be such by the reasoner himself and intentionally used to deceive.
- sophistical adj. Fallacious.
- sophisticate v. To deprive of simplicity of mind or manner.
- sophistry n. Reasoning sound in appearance only, especially when designedly deceptive.
- soprano n. A woman's or boy's voice of high range.
- sorcery n. Witchcraft.
- sordid adj. Of degraded character or nature.
- souvenir n. A token of remembrance.
- sparse adj. Thinly diffused.
- Spartan adj. Exceptionally brave; rigorously severe.
- spasmodic adj. Convulsive.
- specialize v. To assume an individual or specific character, or adopt a singular or special course.
- specialty n. An employment limited to one particular line of work.
- specie n. A coin or coins of gold, silver, copper, or other metal.
- species n. A classificatory group of animals or plants subordinate to a genus.
- specimen n. One of a class of persons or things regarded as representative of the class.
- specious adj. Plausible.
- spectator n. One who beholds or looks on.
- specter n. Apparition.
- spectrum n. An image formed by rays of light or other radiant energy.
- speculate v. To pursue inquiries and form conjectures.
- speculator n. One who makes an investment that involves a risk of loss, but also a chance of profit.
- sphericity n. The state or condition of being a sphere.
- spheroid n. A body having nearly the form of a sphere.
- spherometer n. An instrument for measuring curvature or radii of spherical surfaces.
- spinous adj. Having spines.
- spinster n. A woman who has never been married.
- spontaneous adj. Arising from inherent qualities or tendencies without external efficient cause.
- sprightly adj. Vivacious.
- spurious adj. Not genuine.
- squabble v. To quarrel.
- squalid adj. Having a dirty, mean, poverty-stricken appearance.
- squatter n. One who settles on land without permission or right.
- stagnant adj. Not flowing: said of water, as in a pool.
- stagnate v. To become dull or inert.
- stagnation n. The condition of not flowing or not changing.
- stagy adj. Having a theatrical manner.
- staid adj. Of a steady and sober character.
- stallion n. An uncastrated male horse, commonly one kept for breeding.
- stanchion n. A vertical bar, or a pair of bars, used to confine cattle in a stall.
- stanza n. A group of rimed lines, usually forming one of a series of similar divisions in a poem.
- statecraft n. The art of conducting state affairs.
- static adj. Pertaining to or designating bodies at rest or forces in equilibrium.
- statics n. The branch of mechanics that treats of the relations that subsist among forces in order.
- stationary adj. Not moving.
- statistician n. One who is skilled in collecting and tabulating numerical facts.
- statuesque adj. Having the grace, pose, or quietude of a statue.
- statuette n. A figurine.
- stature n. The natural height of an animal body.
- statute n. Any authoritatively declared rule, ordinance, decree, or law.
- stealth n. A concealed manner of acting.
- stellar adj. Pertaining to the stars.
- steppe n. One of the extensive plains in Russia and Siberia.
- sterling adj. Genuine.
- stifle v. To smother.
- stigma n. A mark of infamy or token of disgrace attaching to a person as the result of evildoing.
- stiletto n. A small dagger.
- stimulant n. Anything that rouses to activity or to quickened action.
- stimulate v. To rouse to activity or to quickened action.
- stimulus n. Incentive.
- stingy adj. Cheap, unwilling to spend money.
- stipend n. A definite amount paid at stated periods in compensation for services or as an allowance.
- Stoicism n. The principles or the practice of the Stoics-being very even tempered in success and failure.
- stolid adj. Expressing no power of feeling or perceiving.
- strait n. A narrow passage of water connecting two larger bodies of water.
- stratagem n. Any clever trick or device for obtaining an advantage.
- stratum n. A natural or artificial layer, bed, or thickness of any substance or material.
- streamlet n. Rivulet.
- stringency n. Strictness.
- stringent adj. Rigid.
- stripling n. A mere youth.
- studious adj. Having or showing devotion to the acquisition of knowledge.
- stultify v. To give an appearance of foolishness to.
- stupendous adj. Of prodigious size, bulk, or degree.
- stupor n. Profound lethargy.
- suasion n. The act of persuading.
- suave adj. Smooth and pleasant in manner.
- subacid adj. Somewhat sharp or biting.
- subaquatic adj. Being, formed, or operating under water.
- subconscious adj. Being or occurring in the mind, but without attendant consciousness or conscious perception.
- subjacent adj. Situated directly underneath.
- subjection n. The act of bringing into a state of submission.
- subjugate v. To conquer.
- subliminal adj. Being beneath the threshold of consciousness.
- sublingual adj. Situated beneath the tongue.
- submarine adj. Existing, done, or operating beneath the surface of the sea.
- submerge v. To place or plunge under water.
- submergence n. The act of submerging.
- submersible adj. Capable of being put underwater.
- submersion n. The act of submerging.
- submission n. A yielding to the power or authority of another.
- submittal n. The act of submitting.
- subordinate adj. Belonging to an inferior order in a classification.
- subsequent adj. Following in time.
- subservience n. The quality, character, or condition of being servilely following another's behests.
- subservient adj. Servilely following another's behests.
- subside v. To relapse into a state of repose and tranquility.
- subsist v. To be maintained or sustained.
- subsistence n. Sustenance.
- substantive adj. Solid.
- subtend v. To extend opposite to.
- subterfuge n. Evasion.
- subterranean adj. Situated or occurring below the surface of the earth.
- subtle adj. Discriminating.
- subtrahend n. That which is to be subtracted.
- subversion n. An overthrow, as from the foundation.
- subvert v. To bring to ruin.
- succeed v. To accomplish what is attempted or intended.
- success n. A favorable or prosperous course or termination of anything attempted.
- successful adj. Having reached a high degree of worldly prosperity.
- successor n. One who or that which takes the place of a predecessor or preceding thing.
- succinct adj. Concise.
- succulent adj. Juicy.
- succumb v. To cease to resist.
- sufferance n. Toleration.
- sufficiency n. An ample or adequate supply.
- suffrage n. The right or privilege of voting.
- suffuse v. To cover or fill the surface of.
- suggestible adj. That can be suggested.
- suggestive adj. Stimulating to thought or reflection.
- summary n. An abstract.
- sumptuous adj. Rich and costly.
- superabundance n. An excessive amount.
- superadd v. To add in addition to what has been added.
- superannuate v. To become deteriorated or incapacitated by long service.
- superb adj. Sumptuously elegant.
- supercilious adj. Exhibiting haughty and careless contempt.
- superficial adj. Knowing and understanding only the ordinary and the obvious.
- superfluity n. That part of anything that is in excess of what is needed.
- superfluous adj. Being more than is needed.
- superheat v. To heat to excess.
- superintend v. To have the charge and direction of, especially of some work or movement.
- superintendence n. Direction and management.
- superintendent n. One who has the charge and direction of, especially of some work or movement.
- superlative n. That which is of the highest possible excellence or eminence.
- supernatural adj. Caused miraculously or by the immediate exercise of divine power.
- supernumerary adj. Superfluous.
- supersede v. To displace.
- supine adj. Lying on the back.
- supplant v. To take the place of.
- supple adj. Easily bent.
- supplementary adj. Being an addition to.
- supplicant n. One who asks humbly and earnestly.
- supplicate v. To beg.
- supposition n. Conjecture.
- suppress v. To prevent from being disclosed or punished.
- suppressible adj. Capable of being suppressed.
- suppression n. A forcible putting or keeping down.
- supramundane adj. Supernatural.
- surcharge n. An additional amount charged.
- surety n. Security for payment or performance.
- surfeit v. To feed to fullness or to satiety.
- surmise v. To conjecture.
- surmount v. To overcome by force of will.
- surreptitious adj. Clandestine.
- surrogate n. One who or that which is substituted for or appointed to act in place of another.
- surround v. To encircle.
- surveyor n. A land-measurer.
- susceptibility n. A specific capability of feeling or emotion.
- susceptible adj. Easily under a specified power or influence.
- suspense n. Uncertainty.
- suspension n. A hanging from a support.
- suspicious adj. Inclined to doubt or mistrust.
- sustenance n. Food.
- swarthy adj. Having a dark hue, especially a dark or sunburned complexion.
- Sybarite n. A luxurious person.
- sycophant n. A servile flatterer, especially of those in authority or influence.
- syllabic adj. Consisting of that which is uttered in a single vocal impulse.
- syllabication n. Division of words into that which is uttered in a single vocal impulse.
- syllable n. That which is uttered in a single vocal impulse.
- syllabus n. Outline of a subject, course, lecture, or treatise.
- sylph n. A slender, graceful young woman or girl.
- symmetrical adj. Well-balanced.
- symmetry n. Relative proportion and harmony.
- sympathetic adj. Having a fellow-feeling for or like feelings with another or others.
- sympathize v. To share the sentiments or mental states of another.
- symphonic adj. Characterized by a harmonious or agreeable mingling of sounds.
- symphonious adj. Marked by a harmonious or agreeable mingling of sounds.
- symphony n. A harmonious or agreeable mingling of sounds.
- synchronism n. Simultaneousness.
- syndicate n. An association of individuals united for the prosecution of some enterprise.
- syneresis n. The coalescence of two vowels or syllables, as e'er for ever.
- synod n. An ecclesiastical council.
- synonym n. A word having the same or almost the same meaning as some other.
- synopsis n. A syllabus or summary.
- systematic adj. Methodical.
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