The Highly Selective Dictionary for the Extraordinarily Literate (38 page)

Sisyphean
(
SIS
-
e
-FEE-
e
n)
adjective

1. everlastingly laborious and unavailing.

2. of or pertaining to Sisyphus who, in Greek legend, was condemned to roll a huge boulder to the top of a hill in Hades, but every time he reached the summit, the boulder slipped out of his grasp and rolled down again.

sluggard
(SLUG-
e
rd)
noun

a slow or lazy person.

Related words:
sluggard
and
sluggardly
both adjectives
,
sluggardliness
noun
.

smegma
(SMEG-m
e
)
noun

a thick, cheeselike secretion in the folds of the skin, especially in the foreskin.

Related word:
smegmatic
(smeg-MA-tik)
adjective
.

sobriquet
(SOH-br
e
-
KAY
)
noun

a nickname.

Related word:
sobriquetical
(
SOH
-br
e
-KET-i-k
e
l)
adjective

sodomy
(SOD-
e
-mee)
noun

a copulation-like act between male persons or with a member of the opposite sex or between a person and an animal.

Related words:
sodomite
(SOD-
e
-
M
I
T
)
sodomist
(SOD-
e
-mist)
both nouns
,
sodomitical
(
SOD
-
e
-MIT-i-k
e
l)
adjective
,
sodomitically
adverb
.

soi-disant
(swah-dee-ZAHN)
adjective
, French

1. self-styled.

2. so-called.

3. pretended.

soigné
(swahn-YAY)
adjective, feminine
soignée

1. well-groomed and sophisticated.

2. carefully designed and prepared.

solecism
(SOL-
e
-
SIZ
-
e
m)
noun

1. a mistake in the use of language.

2. an offense against good manners or etiquette.

Do not confuse
solecism
with
solipsism
, which see.

Related words:
solecist
(SOL-
e
-sist)
noun
,
solecistic
(
SOL
-
e
-SIS-tik) and
solecistical
both adjectives
,
solecistically
adverb
.

solicitous
(s
e
-LIS-i-t
e
s)
adjective

anxious and concerned about a person's welfare or comfort.

Related words:
solicitously
adverb
,
solicitousness
and
solicitude
(s
e
-LIS-i-
TOOD
)
both nouns
.

solipsism
(SOL-ip-
SIZ
-
e
m)
noun

1. the philosophical theory that the self is the only knowable, or the only existent, thing.

2. egoistic self-absorption.

The nouns
solecism
and
solipsism
are relatively uncommon words, sharing nothing but similarity of spelling and pronunciation, yet careless writers and speakers confuse the words. One meaning of
solecism
is
a mistake in the use of language
, and one meaning of
solipsism
is
egoistic self-absorption
. If you intend to use either of these words, keep their meanings firmly in mind so you will not be misled by superficial similarities. And while you avoid
solecisms
in your writing, beware of falling prey to
solipsism
.

Related words:
solipsist
(SOL-ip-sist) and
solipsistic
(
SOL
-ip-SIS-tik)
both adjectives
,
solipsist
noun
.

somnambulism
(som-NAM-by
e
-
LIZ
-
e
m)
noun

sleepwalking.

Related words:
somnambulant
(som-NAM-by
e
-l
e
nt) and
somnambulistic
(som-
NAM
-by
e
-LIS-tik)
both adjectives
,
somnambulate
(som-NAM-by
e
-
LAYT
)
verb
,
somnambulation
(som-
NAM
-by
e
-LAY-sh
e
n) and
somnambulist
(som-NAM-by
e
-list)
both nouns
.

somnolent
(SOM-n
e
-l
e
nt)
adjective

sleepy, drowsy; asleep.

Related words:
somnolence
and
somnolency
both nouns
,
somnolently
adverb
.

sonorous
(s
e
-NOR-
e
s)
adjective

1. giving a deep powerful sound; resonant.

2. of language or diction, high-flown, grandiloquent.

Related words:
sonority
and
sonorousness
nouns
,
sonorously
adverb
.

sophism
(SOF-iz-
e
m)
noun

a false argument, especially one intended to deceive.

Related words:
sophist
(SOF-ist)
noun
,
sophistic
(s
e
-FIS-tik) and
sophistical
both adjectives
,
sophistically
adverb
.

sophistry
(SOF-
e
-stree)
noun, plural
sophistries

clever and subtle but perhaps misleading reasoning.

soporific
(
SOP
-
e
-RIF-ik)
adjective

1. tending to produce sleep.

2. (
noun
) a medicinal substance that produces sleep.

Related word:
soporifically
adverb
.

sororicide
(s
e
-ROR-
e
-
S
I
D
)
noun

1. the act of killing one's sister.

2. a person who commits sororicide.

Related word:
sororicidal
(s
e
-
ROR
-
e
-S
I
D-
e
l)
adjective
.

soubrette
(soo-BRET)
noun

1. an actress or opera singer playing a maidservant or similar character, especially with the implication of pertness or coquetry.

2. the role itself.

3. any lively or pert young woman.

Related word:
soubrettish
adjective
.

soupçon
(soop-SAWN)
noun

a very small quantity; a trace; a dash.

specious
(SPEE-sh
e
s)
adjective

seeming good or sound at first sight but lacking real merit.

Related words:
speciously
adverb
,
speciousness
noun
.

splenetic
(spli-NET-ik)
adjective

1. of a person, ill-tempered; peevish, irascible.

2. of the spleen.

Related word:
splenetically
adverb
.

spoonerism
(SPOO-n
e
-
RIZ
-
e
m)
noun

the interchange of the initial letters of two words, usually as a slip of the tongue.

squash
(skwosh)
verb

This verb is well understood and is supplied merely to call attention to the difference between
squash
and
quash
, which see.

squelch
(skwelch)
verb

1. silence, as with a crushing reply.

2. suppress, quell; quash.

Notice that
squelch
in its second sense is synonymous with
quash
, which see.

Related words:
squelcher
noun
,
squelchingly
adverb
,
squelchingness
noun
.