The Highly Selective Dictionary for the Extraordinarily Literate (37 page)

schadenfreude
(SHAHD-
e
n-
FROY
-d
e
)
noun

malicious satisfaction felt at the misfortunes of someone else.

sciamachy
(s
I
-AM-
e
-kee)
noun, plural
sciamachies

an act of fighting with shadows or an imaginary enemy.

sciolist
(S
I
-
e
-list)
noun

a superficial pretender to knowledge.

Related words:
sciolism
(S
I
-
e
-
LIZ
-
e
m)
noun
,
sciolistic
(
S
I
-
e
-LIS-tik)
adjective
.

scoliosis
(
SKOH
-lee-OH-sis)
noun

an abnormal lateral curvature of the spine.

Related word:
scoliotic
(
SKOH
-lee-OT-ik)
adjective
.

scourge
(skurj)
noun

1. a person or thing regarded as a great affliction.

2. a whip for flogging people.

3. (
verb
) flog with a whip.

4. (
verb
) afflict greatly.

Related words:
scourger
noun
,
scourgingly
adverb
.

scurrilous
(SKUR-
e
-l
e
s)
adjective

1. abusive and insulting.

2. coarsely humorous or derisive.

Related words:
scurrility
(sk
e
-RIL-i-tee) and
scurrilousness
(SKUR-
e
-l
e
s-nis)
both nouns
,
scurrilously
adverb
.

sedulous
(SEJ-
e
-l
e
s)
adjective

diligent and persevering; assiduous.

Related words:
sedulously
adverb
,
sedulousness
noun
.

self-abnegation
(SELF-
AB
-ni-GAY-sh
e
n)
noun

See
abnegate
.

semiology
(
SEE
-mee-OL-
e
-jee)
noun

the branch of linguistics concerned with signs and symbols.

Related words:
semiologic
(
SEE
-mee-
e
-LOJ-ik) and
semiological
both adjectives
,
semiologist
(
SEE
-mee-OL-
e
-jist)
noun
.

sempiternal
(
SEM
-pi-TUR-n
e
l)
adjective

everlasting; eternal.

Related word:
sempiternally
adverb
.

senescent
(si-NES-
e
nt)
adjective

growing old; aging.

Related word:
senescence
noun
.

sensual
(SEN-shoo-
e
l)
adjective

1. physical.

2. gratifying to the body.

3. indulging oneself with physical pleasures.

4. worldly, materialistic, irreligious.

Do not confuse
sensual
with
sensuous
, which see.

Related words:
sensually
adverb
,
sensualism
(SEN-shoo-
e
-
LIZ
-
e
m),
sensualist
, and
sensuality
(
SEN
-shoo-AL-i-tee)
all nouns
.

sensuous
(SEN-shoo-
e
s)
adjective

affecting or appealing to the senses, especially by beauty or delicacy.

Do not confuse
sensuous
with
sensual
. While both adjectives refer to experience gained through the senses, they differ markedly in interpretation.
Sensual
often carries an unfavorable connotation, for example, in such phrases as
sensual excesses
and
sensual sunbathing in which one's curves are displayed
. By way of contrast,
sensuous
offers such phrases as
sensuous music
and
sensuous poetry
, and no one ever came to a sordid end by indulging in the enjoyment of music or poetry that appeals to the senses.

Related words:
sensuously
adverb
,
sensuosity
(
SEN
-shoo-OS-i-tee) and
sensuousness
both nouns
.

sententious
(sen-TEN-sh
e
s)
adjective

1. putting on an air of wisdom.

2. dull and moralizing.

Related words:
sententiously
adverb
,
sententiousness
and
sententiosity
(sen-
TEN
-shee-OS-i-tee)
both nouns
.

sepulcher
(SEP-
e
l-k
e
r)
noun

a tomb.

Related words:
sepulchral
(s
e
-PUL-kr
e
l)
adjective
,
sepulchrally
(s
e
-PUL-kr
e
-lee)
adverb
.

sepulture
(SEP-
e
l-ch
e
r)
noun

burial, interment.

Related words:
sepultural
(s
e
-PUL-ch
e
r-
e
l)
adjective
.

serendipity
(
SER
-
e
n-DIP-i-tee)
noun

1. the making of pleasant discoveries by accident.

2. the knack of doing this.

Related words:
serendipiter, serendipitist
, and
serendipper
all nouns
;
serendipitous
adjective
.

sesquipedalian
(
SES
-kwi-pi-DAYL-y
e
n)
adjective

1. of a word, having many syllables.

2. of a writer, tending to use long words.

Related words:
sesquipedalianism
(
SES
-kwi-pi-DAYL-y
e
n-iz-
e
m) and
sesquipedality
(
SES
-kwi-pi-DAL-i-tee)
both nouns
.

shibboleth
(SHIB-
e
-lith)
noun

1. an old slogan or principle that is still considered essential by some members of a party or group.

2. a test word, principle, behavior, or opinion whose use reveals one's party, nationality, orthodoxy, etc.

sibyl
(SIB-
e
l)
noun

1. a fortune-teller; a prophetess.

2. a witch.

3. one of the women of classical legend who were supposed to prophesy under the influence of a god.

Related word:
sibylline
(SIB-
e
-
L
I
N
)
adjective
.

simplistic
(sim-PLIS-tik)
adjective

tending to simplify something unjustifiably.

Anyone who listens to talk radio or reads letters written to newspaper editors knows there is an army of poor speakers and writers for whom the elegant adjective
simplistic
holds a fatal fascination—fatal because these speakers and writers mistakenly use
simplistic
as a synonym for
simple
. And one thing
simplistic
is not is a synonym for
simple
. Anyone who uses
simplistic
must be certain he or she intends to convey the meaning of
tending to simplify something unjustifiably
. The adverb
unjustifiably
is the red flag alerting us to the negative connotation of
simplistic
. For example, telling Americans that by eliminating the Internal Revenue Service we will solve all our economic problems is usually taken by rational people to be an example of a
simplistic
proposal. And there are, of course, many other examples of
simplistic
reasoning. So remember that when you describe some idea or proposal as
simplistic
, you are criticizing it as you characterize it.

Related words:
simplistically
adverb
,
simplism
(SIM-pliz-
e
m)
noun
.